Student name
Capella University
FPX 6011
Professor’s Name
Submission Date
Evidence-Based Patient-Centered Needs Assessment
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), the most widespread chronic disease globally, demonstrates that avoidance of chronic disease consequences and improvement of patient quality of life hinges on collaborative efforts of the patient and the healthcare system to manage the disease. In 2022, 14% of the adult population (people 18 years and older) were living with diabetes (World Health Organization, 2024). Compliance with the prescribed management regimen of diabetes is characterized by adherence to a prescribed schedule, obligation to check blood glucose levels, medication intake, and scheduled medical consultations. This needs assessment focuses on the application of an evidence-based approach to the healthcare system barriers for patients with T2DM. It will also consider the use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) and telehealth services for its implementation and monitoring, as it relates to the patient’s healthcare management.
Case Scenario
Maria has been living with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus for the last decade. She is also dealing with hypertension and obesity. Her HbA1c level is 9.4%. She lives in a rural area and is very poor, which means limited access to health care. There are limited services in her area, given that diabetes specialists are few and far between. She has a smartphone but is not prompted to use it. During one of her routine visits, she expressed to her doctor her hesitance and reluctance to draw her own blood due to the prick. She regularly misses her nighttime insulin and misses her doctor appointments due to a lack of public transport.
Importance of Addressing Patient Engagement
Patient engagement is very important in the management and control of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus because the patient is the one who makes the decisions. Barriers to healthcare that pertain to Mrs. Hernandez are: low health literacy, transportation issues, lack of financial resources, and poor medication compliance. Patient engagement is especially critical for this population because there are known complications that lead to cardiovascular and renal health concerns, peripheral neuropathy, and visual impairment.
Evidence points to the positive impact of patient engagement for enhanced medication adherence and self-management, as well as achieving low HbA1c and lessening T2DM control-related hospitalizations (Măriuț et al., 2025). Patient engagement and family member inclusion will promote confidence through patient education about diabetes. Diabetes management methods benefiting from patient engagement and education include technologies.
Potential Use and Impact of ICT Tools to Improve Health Literacy
Mrs. Hernandez is likely to benefit from the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) because of the ongoing nature of this strategy. ICT will be combined with continuous glucose monitors (CGM), applications, and telehealth consultations. As Latif et al. (2025) found, CGM, applications, and telehealth consultations enable patients to understand their conditions better. Furthermore, ICT will allow the provision of feedback to patients, enable their active participation, and ensure the proper performance of health care providers to ensure that the patients receive the necessary health care along with the prescribed medications and the maintenance of specific blood glucose levels. CGM, as opposed to traditional methods of glucose monitoring that require finger pricks, is a mobile technology. With the use of CGM, Mrs. Hernandez will be able to assess the effects of her diet, medications, and physical activities on her blood glucose levels, be reminded to take her medications, receive guidance on her meals, view educational videos in a bilingual format, and interact with her diabetes management team.
Value and Relevance of Technology Modalities
The technological advancements are relevant to Mrs. Hernandez’s case since her health care needs the ongoing use of diabetes management technology, communication of health care providers, and self-management.
Using CGM can provide data on blood glucose levels and track insulin injections, workouts, food, and messages to doctors (Bender et al., 2025). This could help determine if the patient is trending towards hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, and assist in the necessary adjustments to the treatment plan. With CGM technology, Mrs. Hernandez could use an app that would send her notifications, as well as offer suggestions and provide educational resources related to her medical care.
CGM technology also should comply with ethical and cultural standards. Nurses have an ethical obligation to maintain patient privacy and confidentiality when utilizing technology (Abuhammad, 2025). Mrs. Hernandez’s privacy would be maintained if the technology used was HIPAA-compliant. Dietary and nutritional information provided to Mrs. Hernandez should be in both English and Spanish, and be simple enough that she would be able to understand and comply with the information. Mrs. Hernandez’s active involvement in her care is necessary to provide informed consent. CGM technology and telehealth technology do facilitate communication among health care providers; however, this communication must take place within an electronic health record (EHR) system.
Innovative Strategies for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Care
The application of culturally and linguistically appropriate technologies is expected to shift Mrs. Hernandez’s health status and alter her self-care behaviors related to her diabetes. Initially, bilingual telehealth and CGM technologies (Spanish and English) will lead to a better understanding of the dietary guidelines and visualization of the data. Considering Mrs. Hernandez’s Hispanic food paradigm, we can also offer alternative food choices. The coordination of care via the EHR will keep us up to date on the care of Mrs. Hernandez (Alomar et al., 2024). Her family may also need to be involved through telehealth education and consultation, but only with Mrs. Hernandez’s consent. Other strategies may include reminders to take medications, check blood glucose, and messages from the diabetes care team to engage the patient in their care.
Mitigating Risks of Inequity in Access
For Mrs. Hernandez’s diabetes care management, the integration of CGMs, mobile apps, and telehealth will be very effective. However, to optimize the use of these technologies, we need to take into consideration Mrs. Hernandez’s socioeconomic status, limited transportation, and low digital health literacy.
Regarding healthcare access and delivery, research shows that late diagnosis and treatment and adverse effects on patients’ health are partly consequences of a lack of access to services (Maita et al., 2024). With respect to a solution to the problems described, one first must select an appropriate insurance plan. This will address the costs for the use of the digital tools and provide pathways to address the issue of digital illiteracy. Furthermore, the digital tools for telehealth must be supplied in a framework that is accessible via a smartphone without requiring further expertise.
The educational materials for Ms. Hernandez must effectively and efficiently provide culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services. Furthermore, the materials must be in Ms. Hernandez’s native language and include culturally relevant visual aids and materials that are nutritionally balanced and promote healthy behavior. Assuming Ms. Hernandez agrees to the use of CGM, the simultaneous granting of telehealth services and diabetes education to her family is also required. Healthcare organizations are also required to ensure that the digital tools they use are HIPAA-compliant (Shojaei et al., 2024). These strategies will allow healthcare providers to maintain and sustain patient engagement and create health literacy regarding diabetes through the practice of offered digital health educational tools.
Conclusion
To improve care for type 2 diabetes mellitus sufferers, patient-centered care must be prioritized. With regard to Mrs. Hernandez, it is important to embrace technology and innovations like continuous glucose monitors, mobile applications, and telemedicine to overcome barriers related to the economy and clinical and social inequities. The use of such technology has the potential to actively engage diabetes patients in the processes of glucose level monitoring, medication compliance, education, and communication. This technology can be utilized with cultural sensitivity to address inequities in healthcare and enhance health literacy.
References
Abuhammad, S. (2025). Strengthening ethical practices of patient data confidentiality and sharing among nurses in the artificial intelligence-driven healthcare era. SAGE Open Nursing, 11. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608251398113
Alomar, D., Almashmoum, M., Eleftheriou, I., Whelan, P., & Anisworth, J. (2024). The Influence of patient access to electronic health records on health care engagement: A systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26(20). https://doi.org/10.2196/56473
Bender, C., Vestergaard, P., & Cichosz, S. L. (2025). The history, evolution, and future of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Diabetology, 6(3), e17. https://doi.org/10.3390/diabetology6030017
Latif, A., Sattar, S., Fatima, S. B., Khan, H. N., Ali, H., Iftikhar, A., Muhammad A., S., & Mushtaq, M. (2025). Digital diabetes management technologies for type 2 diabetes: A systematic review of home-based care interventions. Cureus, 17(5). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.84177
Maita, K. C., Maniaci, M. J., Haider, C. R., Avila, F. R., Torres-Guzman, R. A., Borna, S., Lunde, J. J., Coffey, J. D, Demaerschalk, B. M., & Antonio, J. F. (2024). The impact of digital health solutions on bridging the health care gap in rural areas: A scoping review. The Permanente Journal, 28(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.7812/tpp/23.134
Măriuț, O.-A., Burlec, A. F., Macovei, I., Mircea, C., Datcu, M. E., Hăncianu, M., & Corciovă, A. (2025). Real-world and clinical implications of patient education, lifestyle and treatment adherence in Romanian diabetes care: An observational study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(20), e7171. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14207171
Shojaei, P., Gjorgievska, E. V., & Chow, Y.-W. (2024). Security and privacy of technologies in health information systems: A systematic literature review. Computers, 13(2), 1–25. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-431X/13/2/41
World Health Organization. (2024). Diabetes. WHO.int. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
