Introduction
The article written by three medical professionals is devoted to the influence of culturally tailored education on the life of African Americans with type 2 diabetes. The authors performed a literature review on the topic and used Garrard’s matrix table. The scholars formed a list of the educational interventions that have a positive impact on the life of the patients. This research is essential for Nursing and the future student practice since it proves that studying the culture, to which a patient belongs, by nurses has a direct influence on the process of medical care.
Type of Study, Hypothesis, Methodology Used, Sample Size and Make-Up, and Results
The article presents the results of research conducted by B.M. Carter, B. Barba, and D.D. Kautz, professionals in Nursing. The topic of the research is the influence of education on the life and patient care of African Americans with type 2 diabetes. The authors make recommendations for nurses, who take care of such patients, to use culturally tailored education in the process of patient care.
The hypothesis that the authors attempt to prove true is that culturally adjusted education is able to improve significantly the self-care of African Americans with type 2 diabetes and bring positive changes to their lifestyle.
The methodology of the given research lies in the following. The authors studied the information on family caregiving and education needs, caregiver-provider strategies for communication, and timing of educational information for the mentioned group of patients, i.e. African Americans with type 2 diabetes. The researchers performed a two-step process of the literature search. The first step was to explore such databases as CINAHL, e-Journal, and Medline in order to find relevant works published in the period from 2000 to 2010. The authors used the following keywords for the search: nursing, diet, exercise, weight control, education, type 2 diabetes, African American.
The authors excluded African American minors, those diagnosed with other types of diabetes, and those unable to give informed consent from their review, as well as pregnant women, who were diagnosed with diabetes. Works published in languages other than English were also excluded. The scholars combined electronic search and hand-search to prevent mistakes (Carter, Barba, & Kautz, 2013, p. 105).
To form a matrix table, the authors used a method developed and described by J. Garrard in 2007. The reason for the use of a matrix was to examine the aim, variables, methodology, sample, implications, limitation, educational interventions, and results of each used report. Garrard’s method proposes a perfect way to make a comprehensive, analytical, critical, and completely clear literature review, allocating specific points for comparison, contrast, and synthesis for the literature review. To prove the reliability of the method, the authors included a table from this matrix containing the information on successful diet and educational interventions (Carter et al., 2013, p. 105).
As a result of this search, the authors found only ten articles, which contained any information of educational interventions developed specifically for African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Of these, six were fully devoted to African Americans, three contained information on both African Americans and others, and one mentioned 18% of white people (Carter et al., 2013, p. 107).
The overall results of the study are the following. First, the scholars created a list of effective educational interventions for African American parents, who employ self-management strategies. These interventions are based on the belief that those, who provide health care, have to get knowledge of the patients’ culture previously to starting to educate patients about lifestyle. Finally, the change of the lifestyle can make significant improvements in the life of African Americans with type 2 diabetes, but a patient needs to be willing to change their lifestyle.
The Relevance Of This Research To Nursing
The research is of high importance for Nursing practice. The authors of the research explain that nurses have to understand the little knowledge of people from a disadvantaged background about their health, the nature of their disease, the needed medications, etc. The scholars also emphasize the fact that cultural traditions may affect the process of self-care severely; as an example, they mention the tradition of African American people to share food, which may be a serious danger to a patient with type 2 diabetes. Thus, the authors provide the nurses with important information that they need to know.
The Implications Of This Research For The Students’ Nursing Practice
The results achieved by this research will probably have a significant influence on the future practice of Nursing students. The students will be taught to understand the importance of cultural knowledge and the impact of cultural traditions on the process of patient care. They will be encouraged to study the cultures of the people, who are their patients, in order to provide medical services of a higher quality.
Conclusion
The authors of the article conducted a literature review on the problem of African Americans with type 2 diabetes and used Garrard’s matrix table. They created a list of successful educational practices for the patients. The importance of this research it that it proves that nurses should study the cultures, to which their patients belong.
Reference
Carter, B.M., Barba, B., & Kautz, D.D. (2013). Culturally tailored education for African Americans with type 2 diabetes. MEDSURG Nursing, 22(2), 105-109, 123. Web.