Improving Blood Pressure and Weight in Patients with Diabetes.

The purpose of this study was to improve healthcare outcomes by reducing blood pressure and weight in adult patients with diabetes at afederally qualified health center. NextGen electronic health record was used to review aggregate data of blood pressures and weight pre-intervention and post-intervention for women and men (N = 304) between 20 and 87 years of age with type 2 diabetes and a BMI : 30. Findings from this study showed that blood pressure and weight did not improve as anticipated using a variety of educational approaches and strategies within the study population. An interdisciplinary team approach should be undertaken to fully examine the problem so that the intervention is specifically targeted to the community population. With diabetes affecting nearly 1.7 million Americans annually, advanced practice nurses are in an ideal position to educate patients on the importance of healthy habits in order to reduce morbidity and mortality from diabetes.