Scenario
Able, the patient for whom the research plan will be created, is 65 years old and lives at home with her husband. She has suffered from gradual weight gain for many years and was recently diagnosed with prediabetes, increased HbA1C, and a BMI of 35 (she is 5 feet tall). She has osteoarthritis and dyslipidemia and uses Tylenol Increased Strength and Voltaren ointment to relieve arthritic pain and stiffness in her knees. The stiffness makes it difficult for her to move around in the morning, and she walks with a cane.
Her pain level is 2/10, and she is taking Crestor 10 mg once a day to treat her dyslipidemia. Patient education, nutrition, exercise, weight loss, and glucose management are all essential components of therapy for all patients. A woman with prediabetes must follow a rigorous diet, necessitating some understanding.
Introduction
Firstly, education about the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle changes is essential. The doctor advised me to focus on reducing my BMI. Thus, lifestyle becomes even more critical in the patient’s therapy.
The rationale for this education is that overweight people are advised to lose weight until they reach their target weight to stop the development of diabetes. This is challenging for many people; in such circumstances, it is recommended that the total weight be reduced by 10% of the baseline weight, to a BMI of 27 kg/m² or lower, and maintained at that level (Haase et al., 2021). Reducing weight by reducing caloric intake and increasing physical activity is feasible.
Assessment Data & Learning Needs.
Additionally, the importance of a healthy diet is emphasized for individuals with dyslipidemia. The rationale is that in this disease, it is recommended to limit consumption of animal products and animal or culinary fats. Examples include pork, beef, mutton fat, fatty meats, butter, mayonnaise, oily fish, egg yolk, cheese, and by-products (liver, kidney, tongue). The second educational necessity is the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Since Able is a pre-diabetic condition, the patient needs to be familiar with medical terms and medications.
Priority Learning Need & Diagnosis
Prediabetes is a disorder that can quickly lead to type 2 diabetes. Since prediabetes (as well as complete diabetes) is related to the body’s failure to respond to ingesting carbs effectively, avoiding sweets is the first step in preventing it. That is why modifying the patient’s diet will be a top emphasis in their instruction. Able is diagnosed with knowledge insufficiency since she does not know what foods she may and cannot consume. The training’s purpose is for the Able to thoroughly comprehend the importance of nutrition so that Able may handle her diet autonomously. According to the SMART criteria, the goal is clearly defined: a change in the patient’s diet.
Domains of Learning
Able’s learning will include both cognitive and emotive aspects. Cognitive learning refers to the processes that occur in the body when new information is received, beginning with the senses and culminating in a response to the effect of that knowledge. The Model of Affective Learning: Affective methods are instructional practices that emphasize addressing certain inherent personality traits. The basic concept here is that if such shortages are resolved, the inclination to eat unhealthy foods should decrease or be eliminated.
Barriers to Learning
The rationale for the first hurdle is the family’s financial situation, since therapy can be pretty expensive. Special diets recommended for the sick may also be costly (Gazerani, 2020). The rationale for the second obstacle is that the patient has been on a lifelong diet, but with limited adherence. The woman’s lifestyle will be difficult to change. Able should understand that the primary goal of prediabetes treatment is to achieve a sustained decrease in blood sugar levels. This can only be achieved through changes in diet and lifestyle.
Diet is one of the most crucial factors in managing prediabetes (Bekele et al., 2020). The patient should be aware that a proper diet and exercise can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 58% (Joshua et al., 2023). The first step is to limit caloric intake through food. This is especially important if you are overweight; reducing your body weight by even 10-15% can cure the disease (Joshua et al., 2023). It is also essential to be aware of risk factors that may increase the likelihood of developing diabetes.
Teaching Plan
Women should be informed about all of the consequences of their sickness. The patient must be able to manage arthritic pain, a common symptom of dyslipidemia. Regular lectures will be held three times each week at the clinic to provide training. Able’s attending physician will deliver lectures, and the woman will have access to all instructional resources outside of the clinic. The doctor must figure out why Able is consuming junk food and then break the habit.
Evaluation of Learning
A quiz and a questionnaire will be used to assess the client, and Able will be asked to explain her thoughts about the event. The control test focuses on cognitive learning, whereas the questionnaire addresses emotional learning. The test is a more objective and effective technique for assessing, and its objectivity is achieved by standardizing the administration procedure and reviewing the quality indicators of tasks and tests as a whole. The questionnaire is also beneficial since it allows patients to express their true sentiments (Denecke et al., 2020). This form of evaluation is broader since Able will submit his own answers rather than those that have already been produced.
Analysis of the Teaching Process
The need for patient education is justified by the fact that the patient’s lifestyle has a significant impact on the course of pre-diabetes therapy. Doctors sometimes equate type 2 diabetes with an epidemic, with the number of patients doubling every 15 years (Haase et al., 2021). According to professionals, 3-4 people per diagnosed patient are unaware of their condition (Haase et al., 2021). Poor nutrition, physical inactivity, excess weight, and stress are common contributing factors to the condition.
There are also stereotypes concerning the disease, particularly among the elderly, that must be overcome. The presence of a disorder, such as dyslipidemia, highlights the importance of the patient’s lifestyle choices (Haase et al., 2021). The ability to communicate between the treating physician and the patient, as well as the availability of training resources, are assets of the teaching technique (Haase et al., 2021). Difficulties include the fact that face-to-face sessions may not be exceptionally comfortable for Able since her health may be poor, as well as the inability to monitor the patient’s lifestyle.
Curriculum creation, which delivers course knowledge in a concise manner, is a crucial element in any educational process. Curriculum development, in the traditional sense, entails creating an activity plan that outlines the key provisions, goals, and areas of focus. The development helps consider all the main parts of the training and the issues that must be addressed for the patient. This technique also helps identify learning problems and impediments. Learning plans will benefit me in my future professional life, as I will be able to tailor my learning to cover all relevant themes and thereby improve my treatment.
Conclusion
Thus, Able’s training is justified by the fact that she is pre-diabetic and suffers from other ailments that necessitate lifestyle adjustments. The patient must adhere to a rigorous diet and abandon her previous behaviors. Creating a training plan enables a comprehensive examination of all components necessary for practical training. Classes will be held in person at the clinic, enabling direct communication with the physician. The availability of training materials will allow the patient to develop and deepen her knowledge throughout her treatment.
References
Bekele, H., Asefa, A., Getachew, B., & Belete, A. M. (2020). Barriers and strategies to lifestyle and dietary pattern interventions for prevention and management of TYPE-2 diabetes in Africa, systematic review. Journal of Diabetes Research, 2020.
Denecke, K., Vaaheesan, S., & Arulnathan, A. (2020). A mental health chatbot for regulating emotions (SERMO)-concept and usability test. IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing, 9(3), 1170-1182.
Gazerani, P. (2020). Migraine and diet. Nutrients, 12(6), 1658.
Haase, C. L., Lopes, S., Olsen, A. H., Satylganova, A., Schnecke, V., & McEwan, P. (2021). Weight loss and risk reduction of obesity-related outcomes in 0.5 million people: Evidence from a UK primary care database. International Journal of Obesity, 45(6), 1249-1258.
Joshua, S. R., Shin, S., Lee, J. H., & Kim, S. K. (2023). Health to eat: A smart plate with food recognition, classification, and weight measurement for type-2 diabetic mellitus patients’ nutrition control. Sensors, 23(3), 1656.