I received a referral for case management from our disease management partners on a patient who was non-compliant with her diabetes regimen. On initial contact with the patient’s daughter, I found that the patient spoke only Korean and was unable to understand the instructions for use of her insulin pen and glucometer which were given in the doctor’s office. She also had little understanding of her diabetic diet and preventive health measures she needed to follow. She was in need of a comprehensive teaching plan to enable her to manage her disease.
Her daughter was willing to help but could not be there on a day-to-day basis. I attempted to initiate a teaching plan using a third-party telephonic translation service, but the patient was not receptive to this form of teaching. I felt the lack of one-on-one contact severely limited the patient’s ability to understand very key points in the treatment of diabetes.
Her lack of understanding was causing her to become frustrated and she began to withdraw. I contacted the attending physician and got permission to have visiting nurse services go out to teach the patient in her home. I spent several hours on the phone contacting agencies in the Chicago area until I found one who had a nurse who spoke the Korean language fluently.
The patient’s daughter contacted me after the first home visit to tell me how ecstatic her mother was to have a nurse who spoke her language, and that her whole attitude toward the diabetic treatment had changed. The patient was able to learn about her disease and is now independent and in her own care.
She and her daughter both say the effort to find a Korean nurse was the key to her success.
