P - Are pregnant woman

I - who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes,

C - compared with those who havent,
O - at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life?
I chose to explore this question because I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during
my second pregnancy. I was able to control my blood glucose levels through proper diet and
light exercise, but my numbers were always on the high end of normal. I have been told by my
family physician as well as by my gynecologist that I am at a higher risk of developing type 2
diabetes later in life because of this. As I am getting older, these risk factors for potential health
problems are always in the back of my mind. I found this assignment to be a great opportunity to
explore some of the research in hopes of keeping myself healthy.
While researching, I found numerous websites pertaining to my topic. At first I thought
that I had found information that completely coincided with what I had been told for the past five
years. Most of the articles I read said that having gestational diabetes increades your risk of
developing type 2 diabetes, sometimes by as much as 60%. One of my sources, however,
claimed that a way to lessen the risk of type 2 diabetes after struggling with gestational diabetes
is simply exercising regularly. It seems to me that the idea of regular exercise would reduce
everyones risk of developing type 2 diabetes. I think that I need to dig up the actual study,
instead of just the abstract, to see how the finding pertain specifically to women who have
previously had gestational diabetes. Another source that I found pointed to the idea that it is hard
to determine the percentage of women truly at risk of developing type 2 diabetes when the
criteria for diagnosing gestational diabetes varies from clinic to clinic. This was something I did
not expect to find. I was under the assumption that all test results that pointed towards
gestational diabetes would fall in the same scale. I didnt think that the tests would vary in
length of time or strength of the glucose solution. I also read that other preexisting conditions
such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may play a role in gestational diabetes. I find that
interesting because I have dealt with PCOS for many years. In the end this research didnt
exactly answer my question but it leans heavily towards it. I feel like it opened a lot of doors for
me to continue researching and for discovery. I am left wondering if other health conditions that
I deal with, such as hypothyroidism which was not diagnosed until after I delivered my second
child, also played a role in my bout of gestational diabetes. I am also wondering what if I have
lowered my risk of developing type two diabetes now that my physicians are managing my other
health problems.
Being able to understand any link between gestational and type 2 diabetes will be an asset
to me as a nurse. I know of quite a few women who worry about this very topic and educating
myself on it will allow for better patient care on my part, in the long run.

Website Evaluations:
Having filled in the flowchart, what conclusion have you reached? Is this a
good source for your research project?
Does the author or organization have the proper experience and
qualifications to provide this information?
If written by an organization, is the organization well known and trusted?
Does the organization have a positive (altruistic) purpose in providing this
information?
Does the source contain a bibliography or other references to show the source of
the information?
Has this source been through a formal publication process? Has it been edited or
reviewed?
Does the site contain any bias? If so, can you find a way to balance the bias with
information from other sources? Finally, is it up to date? Is this important for
your topic?
Summary (What is your overall evaluation, based on the checklist and your
flowchart? Is this a suitable source for your academic research?
What evidence supports your decision?)

I think that this article is suitable for my academic research. It seems to

be an unbiased source as there are many different sources sited within
this study. It is not just an article but rather a collection of findings for a
research question. It is set up in the traditional scientific method scheme
and includes a bibliography. I feel that the material is on the older side,
but it is still relevant to my topic.

Source information:
Title: Gestational Diabetes and the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes
___________________________________________________________________________
Author (if listed): _Catherine Kim, MD,MPH, Katherine M. Newton, PHD,
and Robert H. Knopp, MD
___________________________________________________________________________
Organization (if provided): _American Diabetes Association
___________________________________________________________________________
URL (if provided): http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/10/1862.full
Other information useful for finding this source again or for citing it
later: ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Having filled in the flowchart, what conclusion have you reached? Is this a
good source for your research project?
Does the author or organization have the proper experience and
qualifications to provide this information?
If written by an organization, is the organization well known and trusted?
Does the organization have a positive (altruistic) purpose in providing this
information?
Does the source contain a bibliography or other references to show the source of
the information?
Has this source been through a formal publication process? Has it been edited or
reviewed?
Does the site contain any bias? If so, can you find a way to balance the bias with
information from other sources? Finally, is it up to date? Is this important for
your topic?
Summary (What is your overall evaluation, based on the checklist and your
flowchart? Is this a suitable source for your academic research?
What evidence supports your decision?)

This study is relevant to my academic research. It is a comprehensive

study by a chief physician, that was peer reviewed before publication. It
is a very current publication that has multiple sources sited. I believe this
to be an unbiased article since it adheres to the scientific method
approach to presenting the information.

Source information:
Title: Type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes: The influence of
changing diagnostic criteria
___________________________________________________________________________
Author (if listed): _Eoin Noctor and Fidelma P. Dunne
___________________________________________________________________________
Organization (if provided):
___________________________________________________________________________
URL (if provided): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4360417/
Other information useful for finding this source again or for citing it
later: ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Having filled in the flowchart, what conclusion have you reached? Is this a good
source for your research project?
Does the author or organization have the proper experience and
qualifications to provide this information?
If written by an organization, is the organization well known and trusted?
Does the organization have a positive (altruistic) purpose in providing this
information?
Does the source contain a bibliography or other references to show the source of
the information?
Has this source been through a formal publication process? Has it been edited or
reviewed?
Does the site contain any bias? If so, can you find a way to balance the bias with
information from other sources? Finally, is it up to date? Is this important for
your topic?
Summary (What is your overall evaluation, based on the checklist and your
flowchart? Is this a suitable source for your academic research?
What evidence supports your decision?)

This article is relevant to my research question and pretty recent (2014).

However, it is mostly just a snippet of the study where we find the
outcome but none of the sources or actual study parameters, therefore
leading to a higher bias potential. There is a reference to the study in this
article, so I feel that by investigating the more in depth study that I can
avoid any bias.

Source information:
Title: Exercise Lowers Type 2 Diabetes Risk After Gestational Diabetes
___________________________________________________________________________
Author (if listed): Anita Slomski

Organization (if provided):

___________________________________________________________________________
URL (if provided): http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?
articleid=1899201&resultClick=1
Other information useful for finding this source again or for citing it
later:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________