New Study Examines Plan-Do-Study-Act Framework for Managing Gestational Diabetes

A report recently published in Nutrition in Clinical Practice explored the impact of using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality improvement strategy to bridge the gap between research and practice for care provided to pregnant individuals with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

In the study, registered dietitian nutritionists received training on clinical practice guidelines and quality improvement to help them plan and implement PDSA cycles focused on applying guideline recommendations in their daily work for GDM care. The RDN participants documented nutrition care data in the GDM Study Registry which was maintained in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Health Informatics Infrastructure (ANDHII).

Key takeaways from the study:

• PDSA cycles offered structure with sufficient flexibility to help care sites operationalize guideline implementation at the local level.
• Sites implemented change strategies that ultimately strengthened their use of evidence-based practice recommendations.
• A manual registry audit demonstrated process improvement and by the end of the study, there was a high level of normalization, meaning the recommendation(s) had become a normal part of workflow among sites and dietitians.

The conclusion of the study found that PDSA paired with other implementation strategies and data collection tools, such as ANDHII, can make it easier for RDNs integrate guidelines into everyday practice. This approach serves as a model for implementing other guidelines into routine nutrition care in the future.

This study was funded by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation and Diabetes Practice Group’s Karen Goldstein Memorial Medical Nutrition Therapy Grant.