Objectives: Survey data serves as baseline data for a three year project to improve quality of diabetes care in outpatient clinics. Key questions included: (1) What characteristics of patients are associated with adherence to diabetes self-care guidelines? (2) Are any specific patient characteristics associated with receiving less than optimal clinical care for diabetes? and (3) Is patient satisfaction with care associated with adherence to diabetes self-care guidelines?
Methods: Data reported is from structured telephone interviews (N=453). Diabetic patients were sampled from seven family practice clinics affiliated with the Department of Community Health & Family Medicine at a major Southeastern university. The survey questions fell into three major categories: (1) Provider prevention practices, (2) Patient self-care practices, and (3) Patient satisfaction of care.
Results: Disparities related to gender, ethnicity, and insurance status in terms of real and perceived quality of care were detectable. Significant shortfalls among practitioners were detected concerning specific procedures suggested as crucial in diabetic care guidelines. Patient satisfaction of care overall was very high, though significant differences existed between responses based on race, education, and insurance status. Satisfaction in terms of practitioners' quality of care given was significantly different for patients who self-managed their diabetes well and those patients with poor self-management. Some differences existed in terms of self-management between males and females, Caucasians and African Americans, IDDM and NIDDM patients, and various age groups.
Conclusions: Efforts are still needed to eliminate discrepancies in terms of care received to ensure proper care and to promote proper self-management among all diabetics.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant in this session will: 1. Have an improved understanding of minority and economic discrepancies concerning real and perceived quality of care provided by practitioners in terms of diabetes management. 2. Have a real-life demographic and interrelated "snapshot" of diabetes self-management (i.e. who best self-manages their diabetes, demographically). 3. Have a working knowledge of statistically significant patient satisfaction as correlated with measurements of self-management, for the purposes of better understanding quality assurance in diabetes care.
Keywords: Diabetes, Quality of Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.