The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, 2000) estimates that approximately 16 million Americans have diabetes which the institute defines simply as too much glucose in the blood. The Institute further notes that 50 percent (8 million people) of those who have diabetes are unaware that they have the condition and are receiving no medical treatment; the seriousness of this fact is heightened when one considers that diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in America and constitutes a huge portion of yearly medical spending.
Indeed, the NIDDK states that while diabetes affects 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, it accounts for 14.6 percent of all direct health care expenses. This translates into an annual average of $9,493 dollars for diabetics as compared to $2,604 for non-diabetics.
Despite the alarming statistics, there is hope. Comprehensive diabetes education programs can operate to reduce these statistics, resulting in not only improved outcomes for diabetes patients but also in lowering hospital admissions and, therefore, costs (NIDDK, 2000). This paper examines the diabetes education literature, focusing on empowerment-based models and attendant evaluative issues.
The reviewed literature is then used as the basis for proposing the formulation an evaluation instrument that can be used to assess the effectiveness of empowerment-based diabetes education; in other words, the developed instrument will measure whether a group of diabetes patients receiving diabetes education were, in fact, empowered.
Professional Models of Diabetes Education: Medical versus
Lancaster (1994) defines health education models as paradigms describing combinations of learning experiences designed to encourage people to adapt their behavior to effect the maximal state of health they can achieve given their current physical condition. With respect to diabetes education, Strauss (1996) states tha...