Equipping School Health Personnel for Diabetes Care with a Competency Framework and Pilot Education Program

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Healthcare Education
• Public Health

Background:

• Schools face challenges in managing student diabetes care due to resource limitations.
• A competency framework can guide schools in defining necessary knowledge and skills for diabetes management.
• Standardized diabetes education for school health staff can be informed by such a framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a consensus-based competency framework for school-based diabetes care.
• To create and evaluate a continuing education program for school nurses based on the framework.

Main Methods:

• The Delphi method was employed with 37 stakeholders to establish a competency framework.
• A continuing education program was developed from the framework and pilot-tested.
• Pre- and post-test scores assessed changes in knowledge, competence, and self-efficacy.

Main Results:

• A total of 70 competencies were agreed upon for health aids, school nurses, and diabetes resource nurses.
• Thirty school nurses completed the program, showing significant improvements in diabetes knowledge (p < .01).
• Participants demonstrated enhanced self-efficacy and competence in diabetes pathophysiology and care tasks (p < .01).

Conclusions:

• A consensus framework effectively identifies critical skills for school personnel involved in diabetes care.
• This framework supports the development of adequate and standardized diabetes education for school health staff.
• Stakeholder involvement in framework development ensures relevance and applicability within school settings.