National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference 2024

Dykman, J and Litchford, A.
Diabetes is a major concern in the United States, 34.1 million people or 13% of all US adults
have been diagnosed with diabetes. Because diabetes is a burdensome disease, individuals need
increased support in managing their diabetes symptoms successfully. Research suggests that
individuals who participate in classes to learn diabetes self-management skills show
improvements during and directly after the class, but these results tend to diminish six months
after the class series is concluded. Because of this decline, it is important to provide program
participants with support resources once the class series is complete.

The goal of this project was to develop a practical and evidence-based Extension resource for
individuals with diabetes, that encourages the integration of sustainable diabetes self-
management practices into daily life. Four key outcomes of the project included 81 diabetes-
friendly recipes, 12 recipe demos, 15 photos of recipes, and a 38-page diabetes resource
manual.

The purpose of this poster presentation is to introduce the newly designed Extension resource,
describe the methods of developing the resource manual, summarize the research methods and
evaluation data collected, and identify goals for the future. A key component of this project is
evaluating the resource manual and cookbook ability to support individuals with diabetes after
participating in a diabetes management program. A survey, 3-months after the class, was used to
evaluate the effectiveness of the resource in helping individuals maintain their knowledge and
sustain key diabetes management behaviors learned in class.