Program

Physician Assistant M.S.

Year Approved

2019

First Advisor

Naser, Lisa

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has emerged as a worldwide epidemic in recent years. Rates of this disease continue to rise annually. While many countries have adequate access to prevent and treat T2DM, developing countries often lack education and resources to combat the diabetes epidemic. This shortcoming results in alarming rates of uncontrolled T2DM cases among individuals in developing countries, namely, Guatemala. Additionally, the lack of resources in Guatemala results in a myriad of other health disparities beyond T2DM including deficiencies in sanitation and adequate nutrition. This community service project specifically aims to address the disproportionate burden of T2DM, sanitation, and malnutrition that affects the patients of the Corazon de Amor Health Clinic in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Through communication with staff at Corazon de Amor Health Clinic, the research team determined that educational resources regarding sanitation, malnutrition, and T2DM were lacking. Patients were being educated on a case-by-case basis, but educational tools were not being displayed or readily distributed to the entire population. The research team determined that the clinic waiting room would be an ideal location to display malnutrition and sanitation health information considering the high patient traffic and abundance of wall space for easy display in this area. By printing and displaying educational posters about malnutrition and sanitation in the busy clinic waiting room, the goal of providing preventative health education to the patient population at Corazon de Amor Health Clinic was accomplished. To address the need for education on T2DM, the research team adapted bilingual material accessed from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) into PowerPoint format. The NIDDKD material was then used to create a 3-day educational course for current diabetic patients of the clinic. Additional diabetic educational materials were also created and provided to the clinic to be used at their discretion in the future. All materials were proposed and accepted by staff at the Corazon de Amor Health Clinic. Further use of the provided T2DM, sanitation, and malnutrition materials will be utilized at the discretion of the clinic staff.

Degree Name

Masters of Science in Physician Assistant

Document Type

Masterʼs thesis

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