TABLE 2.
Nurses Disseminate Health Information: Overcoming Challenges and Promoting Interaction
| Nurses’ Role | Challenges | Highlights | Interactive Opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using the TTIM manual | Adherence to manual to ensure research fidelity | Manualized curriculum and detailed timeline ensure consistency of information provided to different groups | Participants have a manual; each session includes a PowerPoint presentation |
| Encouraging attendance in a 12-week program | Absenteeism limits weekly assimilation of material; goal is to complete a missed session before the next class | Participants and nurse arrange make-up times for anticipated absences | Nurse educators provide opportunities for small-group and individual make-up sessions as needed |
| Addressing nurse educators’ knowledge base | Questions about personal health conditions are outside the scope of the TTIM program | Curriculum does not require nurse specialization in diabetes management or mental health and includes strategies to enhance participants’ communication with providers | Nurse educators and curriculum provide tips for more effectively communicating with health care providers |
| Ensuring participants’ comprehension of class material | Participants’ learning limitations include literacy, primary language, and sensory impairments | Participants are encouraged to participate in discussion of presented material and share relevant experiences; materials were developed for low-literacy participants; participants express excitement about mastering new (“I never knew that”) | Sessions include time for questions and answers, discussion, role-playing, and teach-back opportunities; nurse educators reinforce key concepts from the previous class, posing open-ended questions such as “How was your week?” to engage group discussion of home practice exercises |
| Assisting participants in writing a personal care plan (PC plan) for their diabetes and mental health management | Writing a PC plan can be challenging depending on participants’ diabetes and SMI disease severity and educational limitations | Goals are based on the information learned about diabetes and SMI management | Nurse educators coach participants in writing goals; copies of PC plans are provided to participants and peer educators and to care providers as clinical linkages |