Abstract 4143942: Diabetes Education on Cardiovascular Disease Shows Improvements in Knowledge, Confidence, and Intent

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for people living with type 2 diabetes. Know Diabetes by Heart (KDBH) is a program jointly implemented by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Diabetes Association to reduce cardiovascular death, heart attack, heart failure and stroke in people living with type 2 diabetes. We aim to understand knowledge, confidence, and intent changes among program participants in lessons taught through community-based organizations (CBOs) and an online education module. Methods: The AHA collected pre-post data from persons with diabetes and caregivers present at diabetes education courses at participating CBOs and users who participated in the e-module on AHA’s website. Analysis utilized both summary statistics and paired Wilcoxon Signed-Rank testing for significance. Results: Participants at CBOs were generally female (73%), White (43.5%) or Black/African American (36%), non-Latinx (72%), and between 45-69 years old (48%). E-module participants were generally female (69%), White (63.7%), non-Latinx (87%), and between 55-74 years old (48%). After participating in the program, 91% of e-module participants were comfortable speaking with a health care professional about their diabetes and risk for heart disease, and 84% felt it was important to do so. Most participants in the education courses at CBOs were confident in speaking with a health care professional (85%), and in making lifestyle changes (84%) – 11-point improvements. Participants also indicated they were likely to speak with a health care professional about reducing their risk for heart disease and stroke at their next appointment (77%) – a 9-point improvement. None of these changes were statistically significant when pre- and post-tests were paired and analyzed. Respondents scored very high on pre knowledge questions, leaving no room for statistically significant improvement. This may relate to the low difficulty level of predictable questions rather than proficient diabetes knowledge. Confidence and intent showed noticeable improvements over baseline testing. Significance: The KDBH program’s patient education resources improved persons with diabetes and caregivers’ confidence and intent to talk with their healthcare professional about the risk for cardiovascular disease and their diabetes care. One area for improvement is knowledge testing as the survey tools were unable to capture a knowledge level consistent with the literature.