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- All Subjects: Diabetes
- Creators: Shaibi, Gabriel
- Creators: Harrington Bioengineering Program
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Major themes emerging from the data included illness perception, support, and the process of medication adherence. Acceptance of the diabetes diagnosis was imperative for medication adherence. Stigmatization of diabetes was salient in the recruitment process and as it related to mechanisms for adherence. Furthermore, many informants were not aware of a family history of diabetes before their own diagnosis. Four gendered emerging typologies were identified, which further illuminated major themes. Moreover, an eight-step process of medication adherence model is discussed. The researcher was able to identify culturally compatible strategies that may be extended to those struggling with medication adherence. The implications section suggests a set of strategies that healthcare providers can present to people with diabetes in order to increase medication adherence.
The purpose of this study, which was done in conjunction with the Arizona Heart Foundation, was to evaluate whether pyridoxine accelerates ulcer wound healing in diabetic patients with ulcers in the lower extremities. In this study, 100 mg of pyridoxine per day was given to patients in the experimental group (while they receive normal wound treatment) while patients in the control group received normal treatment of wounds without the pyridoxine. Over time, wound healing was evaluated by photographing and then measuring the size of patients' ulcer wounds on the photographs. Results from the experimental group were compared with those of the control group to evaluate the efficacy of the pyridoxine treatment. In addition, comparisons of the healing rates were made with respect to whether the patients smoked, had hypertension or hypotension, and the patients' body mass indexes. It has been found that there was no statistically significant difference in the mean healing rates between the control groups and experimental groups. In addition, it has been found that smoking, BMI and blood pressure did not have a statistically appreciable effect on the difference in mean healing rates between the control and experimental groups. This is evidence that pyridoxine did not have a statistically significant effect on wound healing rates.
Carbohydrate counting has been shown to improve HbA1c levels for people with diabetes. However, the learning curve and inconvenience of carbohydrate counting make it difficult for patients to adhere to it. A deep learning model is proposed to identify food from an image, where it can help the user manage their carbohydrate counting. This early model has a 68.3% accuracy of identifying 101 different food classes. A more refined model in future work could be deployed into a mobile application to identify food the user is about to consume and log it for easier carbohydrate counting.
This project aimed to identify barriers to participation and develop strategies to increase the accessibility of a diabetes prevention program in the Latino community. Surveys were administered to past participants of a randomized control trial at a community event where study results were shared. The top concerns expressed by respondents were related to the use of personal information. Primary barriers to participation included work/school commitments and transportation issues. Strategies to increase accessibility included providing flexible class times, having bilingual research staff, and using multiple forms of community outreach such as flyers, health events, phone calls, texts, and social media. Expanding community partners was also identified as a primary strategy for increasing program reach. Researchers should focus on addressing confidentiality concerns, providing financial compensation for attendance, flexible scheduling, and utilizing diverse outreach methods to enhance access to diabetes prevention programs in the Latino community