Use of a continuous glucose monitoring device: Perceptions of nursing staff

Abstract

Objective: Wearable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, when included in the plan of care for patients in inpatient settings, provides real time blood glucose data. This allows treatment to be proactive and timely. Implementation of these devices alters nursing care. The objective of this study was to describe the perceived barriers and facilitators, from the perspective of direct care providers in an inpatient clinical setting, when the plan of care includes a CGM device.
Methods: Guided by a review of the literature and anecdotal data, a 20 item Likert-scaled survey was developed. Once study approval was secured an invitational email was sent to the password protected emails of all potential participants. Frequency and descriptive analyses were used to analyze the responses.
Results: Survey data from 31 direct care providers describe a positive experience specific to the education and resources available. The addition of a CGM device into the plan of care is not perceived to be an additional burden for the provider.
Conclusions: Pre-implementation, appropriate education and exposure to the device is critical for providing confidence and trust. The availability of ongoing support ensures that care is enhanced when a CGM device is included in the plan of care.

Keywords

Continuous glucose monitor device / Remote glucose monitoring / Direct care provider / Survey data / Competency

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledge Ashely Peacock for her guidance in study and development and manuscript review, Melissa Thomassy for her assistance in data collection and manuscript review, and Peggy Ward-Smith for her statistical advice.

AUTHORS CONTRIBUTIONS

Ms. Smith was responsible for the study design, data collection, and manuscript writing. Ms. Peacock, Ms. Thomassy, and Dr. Ward-Smith assisted with various activities. These contributions of individuals are acknowledged.

FUNDING

There is no funding associated with this research.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE

The author has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could appear to have influenced the work reported in this paper.

INFORMED CONSENT

Not applicable.

ETHICS APPROVAL

The Publication Ethics Committee of the Sciedu Press. The journal’s policies adhere to the Core Practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

PROVENANCE AND PEER REVIEW

Not commissioned; externally double-blind peer reviewed.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

DATA SHARING STATEMENT

No additional data are available.

OPEN ACCESS

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

COPYRIGHTS

Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

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