Background: Prevalence of diabetes is increasing worldwide, especially in the lower income and undereducated populations. Dallas, Texas has a proportionally higher prevalence of diabetes. Early screening and intervention is key to providing effective care and improving the quality of life. This project focused on implementing a diabetes screening tool in a free community clinic in Dallas, Texas. EBP Framework: Lewin’s change theory and Neuman’s change model were used a project framwok. Through addressing concerns of the client and unfreezing, unchanging, and refreezing, the process change in the clinic was guided by this framework. Methods: After IRB approval, a screening tool from the American Diabetes Association was implemented for all new patients that were not known diabetics with the Agape Clinic, and the tools were kept for three weeks. No patient identifiers were placed on the forms. If screened positive, the patient had glucose checked, and if neccessary an A1C. Findings/Results: The project measured the number of patients screened by a diabetes screening tool before implementation compared to after. The tools were evaluated for correct usage as well as correctly following guidelines based on tool scoring. The percent of patients screened increased to 80.16% Conclusion/Recommendations: The implementation of the screening tool was successful and proved beneficial. Twelve new diabetic/pre-diabetic cleitns were identified. The use of diabetes screening tools is recommended in order to adequately screen individuals effectively and efficiently.
