Assessing the impact of an outpatient education program for patients with gestational diabetes

In this descriptive study, two treatment approaches designed to help women with gestational diabetes manage their pregnancies were compared: a hospital, outpatient-based, nursing intervention and the traditional, office-based care provided by obstetricians. A research model was constructed using three variables suggested by the literature: input variables (risk factors prior to gestation), moderating variables (conditions that occur during pregnancy), and outcome variables (normal vs abnormal outcomes for mother and infant). This research model was used to contrast the two treatment approaches. The principal statistical procedure employed was logistic regression, a backward elimination method where the dependent variable is expressed as an odds ratio. Neither treatment approach significantly reduced the risk of abnormal outcomes for mother or infant. First-time mothers, patients with gestational diabetes on medications, and patients with gestational diabetes experiencing complications during pregnancy had a significantly greater risk of having an infant with one or more abnormal outcomes.