Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement a standardized process for screening for diabetes distress among patients seen at a primary care clinic.|Background: Diabetes distress is a problem affecting many patients. Diabetes distress was first described by Polonsky et al. in 1995 to identify a new way to measure psychosocial adaption related to diabetes. Researchers in this study utilized a tool that evaluated certain aspects of psychosocial distress including emotional distress, disordered eating, fear of hypoglycemia, and fear of diabetic complications (Polonsky et al., 1995). Polonsky et al. concluded that measuring for diabetes distress was useful because its presence was correlated with diabetic outcomes (1995).
Sample/Setting: The sample included individuals, 18 years of age or older who had been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes for at least 1 month. Participants needed to be able to read and understand English, agree to a diabetic assessment related to distress, and be followed by a clinic provider and/or diabetes educator. The setting was a clinic in central South Dakota.|Methods: Data was collected using the DDS which is a 17 question Likert type scale. Scores of <2 indicated “no distress”, 2.0-2.9 indicated “moderate distress”, and >3 indicated “high distress”. The scale was broken down into four subgroups including emotional burden, regimen related distress, physician related distress, and interpersonal distress. Interventions were offered based on the area of concern. The DDS was repeated after three months of implementing the intervention. Demographic data and the DDS scores were entered into excel and analyzed.|Results: Nineteen patients were screened. Three patients had type 1 diabetes and sixteen had type 2 diabetes. 5 out of 19 patients screened scored positive. The mean DDS score for the nineteen patients was 1.42. The mean DDS score for the positive patients was 2.03. After intervention, four patients scores improved to 1.71.|Conclusion: Screening for diabetes distress and offering an appropriate intervention, based on the area of concern, can decrease diabetes distress and improve overall outcomes.