Improving Hemoglobin A1c Using the 4 Steps to Manage Your Diabetes for Life

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. where 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed each year. This evidence-based quality improvement project showed the effects of diabetes self-management education on lowering hemoglobin A1c levels and improving self-management behaviors. Education from the National Diabetes Education Program using the 4 Steps to Manage Your Diabetes for Life booklet along with follow up phone calls, a pre and post- Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire were administered to twelve participants at the clinic. Descriptive statistics and a paired sample T-test were used to analyze data on the hemoglobin A1c and the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire. The results showed there was a decrease in the A1c from an average of 10.9 (1.14) on the pre-test to 9.0 (1.74) on the post-test [t(11) = 3.56, p=0.004]. There was an increase in the score from pre to post-test of the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire from an average of 30.3 (5.99) on the pre-test to 36.5 (4.68) on the post-test, indicating an increase in knowledge and self-management [t(11) = -2.46, p=0.031]. It is recommended that the 4 Steps to Manage Your Diabetes for Life be used in practice in order to help lower the hemoglobin A1c levels.