Achieving a useful and person-centred diabetes consultation is a shared responsibility between diabetologists and people with diabetes: a qualitative study of perspectives from people with type 1 diabetes

Mixed methods study on the feasibility of implementing periodic continuous glucose monitoring among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a primary care setting

Background

Health care professionals (HCPs) play a central role in leveraging technologies to support individuals with diabetes. This mixed-method study was completed to determine the feasibility of implementing periodic continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in a primary care setting.

Aim

This study aimed to evaluate and describe the experiences of using periodic CGM with data visualization tools in patients with type 2 diabetes to foster a person-centered approach in a primary care setting.

Methods

Fifty outpatients aged ≥18 years, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and with a disease duration of at least 2 years were included in this study. Data were collected from April 2021 to January 2022. Patients completed a single period of sensor measurements for 28 days and a diabetes questionnaire about feelings and experiences of health care. HbA1c was also measured. A focus group interview was conducted to evaluate and describe the HCPs experiences of using periodic CGM.

Results

Patients reported to HCPs that the CGM device was comfortable to wear and noted that LibreView was easy to use when scanning the sensor to obtain and visualize the glucose levels and trends. Data availability of CGM data was >70 %.Clinical observations revealed a mean reduction in HbA1c, mmol/mol from 60.06 [7.65 %] at baseline to 55.42 [7.20 %] after 4 weeks (p < 0.001). Two categories were identified: 1) Fostering dialogue on self-care and 2) Promoting understanding.

Conclusions

The HCPs and participants in this study had a positive experience or viewed the implementation of periodic CGM with data visualization tools as a positive experience and appeared to be feasible for implementation in a primary care setting.

Effectiveness of a nurse-led personalized patient engagement program to promote type 2 diabetes self-management: A randomized controlled trial

PHEinAction® is a theory-based nurse-led patient engagement intervention developed among an Italian older adult population with various chronic diseases to facilitate cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes in promoting individuals' active roles. This study aims to adapt and evaluate the effectiveness of PHEinAction® on diabetes self-management (DSM) among Turkish type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. First, the generic content of the intervention was customized for diabetes management and adapted for the Turkish population, including back-forward translation and expert panel evaluation; then, a randomized controlled trial was conducted with 51 adult diabetes patients randomly assigned to intervention or the control group receiving the usual care. The intervention consisted of two in-person sessions of 4-week intervals, a telephone consultation, and home-based written exercises, which involved personalized care activities addressing individuals' engagement levels and covering the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects. The scores for treatment adherence, self-efficacy, and patient engagement had significantly improved with a large size effect in the intervention group at the fourth-week follow-up compared with the control group. Findings suggest that the nurse-led personalized patient engagement program could effectively promote DSM.

Behandlungsverhalten und Wünsche an die Therapie aus Sicht von jungen Erwachsenen mit Diabetes mellitus Typ 1

Hintergrund Bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen (JujE) mit Diabetes mellitus Typ 1 (DMT1) werden gehäuft Behandlungsverhaltensweisen beobachtet, die mit ungünstigen Gesundheitsoutcomes assoziiert sind. Darüber hinaus verläuft der in diesem Alter erforderliche Transitionsprozess oft problematisch. Insgesamt ist diese Altersspanne mit einem erhöhten Risiko für akute Komplikationen und langfristige Folgeschäden assoziiert. Ziel der Studie ist es, Gründe für Therapieunzufriedenheit und ungünstiges Behandlungsverhalten aus Sicht der JujE zu explorieren und den Bedarf sowie konkrete Empfehlungen für ein zusätzliches psychologisches Coaching abzuleiten.

Methode Insgesamt wurden 15 qualitative Interviews mit JujE (Alter M=20.2; SD=3.1 Jahre; 53.3% weiblich) geführt. Zudem wurden die Soziodemographie und depressive Symptomatik (PHQ-9; Patient Health Questionnaire) erhoben.

Ergebnisse Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass Behandlungsunzufriedenheit und ungünstiges Behandlungsverhalten mit direktiven Kommunikationsmustern sowie einer fehlenden persönlichen Bindung zu den Behandler:innen assoziiert sind. Zudem werden psychische Belastungen aus Sicht der Befragten unzureichend thematisiert. Die JujE wünschten sich insbesondere Kontinuität im Behandlungsteam sowie einen empathischen Umgang. Die Idee eines zusätzlichen Coachings wurde positiv aufgenommen. Hierbei besteht der Wunsch nach bedürfnisorientierter Ausgestaltung.

Diskussion Mögliche Barrieren von Adhärenz und psychische Belastungen sollten offen erfragt und thematisiert werden. Insbesondere bei psychisch belasteten JujE könnte das Behandlungsverhalten möglicherweise durch zusätzliche niederschwellige Coachingangebote verbessert werden. Eine randomisiert-kontrollierte Studie ist noch ausstehend.

Implementing the Digital Diabetes Questionnaire as a Clinical Tool in Routine Diabetes Care: Focus Group Discussions With Patients and Health Care Professionals

BACKGROUND

The Diabetes Questionnaire is a digital patient-reported outcome and experience measure for adults living with diabetes. The Diabetes Questionnaire is intended for use in routine clinical visits in diabetes care and to enable patient perspectives to be integrated into the Swedish National Diabetes Register. The Diabetes Questionnaire was developed on the basis of patients' perspectives, and evidence for its measurement qualities has been demonstrated. Patients receive an invitation to complete the questionnaire before clinical visits, and the patient and health care professional (HCP) can discuss the findings, which are instantly displayed during the visit. Implementation processes for new tools in routine care need to be studied to understand the influence of contextual factors, the support needed, and how patients and HCPs experience clinical use.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to describe patients' and HCPs' experiences of initiating the use of the digital Diabetes Questionnaire as a clinical tool in routine diabetes care, supported by a structured implementation strategy involving initial education, local facilitators, and regular follow-ups.

METHODS

In this qualitative study, semistructured focus group discussions were conducted 12 months after the use of the Diabetes Questionnaire was initiated. Participants were diabetes specialist nurses and physicians (20 participants in 4 groups) at hospital-based outpatient clinics or primary health care clinics and adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes (15 participants in 4 groups). The audiotaped transcripts were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

The results revealed 2 main categories that integrated patients' and HCPs' experiences, which together formed an overarching theme: While implementation demands new approaches, the Diabetes Questionnaire provides a broader perspective. The first main category (The Diabetes Questionnaire supports person-centered clinical visits) comprised comments expressing that the digital Diabetes Questionnaire can initiate and encourage reflection in preparation for clinical visits, bring important topics to light during clinical visits, and broaden the scope of discussion by providing additional information. The second main category (The process of initiating the implementation of the Diabetes Questionnaire) comprised comments that described differences in engagement among HCPs and their managers, challenges of establishing new routines, experiences of support during implementation, thoughts about the Diabetes Questionnaire, need to change local administrative routines, and opportunities and concerns for continued use.

CONCLUSIONS

The Diabetes Questionnaire can broaden the scope of health data in routine diabetes care. While implementation demands new approaches, patients and HCPs saw potential positive impacts of using the questionnaire at both the individual and group levels. Our results can inform further development of implementation strategies to support the clinical use of the questionnaire.

Doctor-Patient Relationship in Synchronous/Real-time Video-Consultations and In-Person Visits: An Investigation of the Perceptions of Young People with Type 1 Diabetes and Their Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

Given that the widely acknowledged influence of the doctor-patient relationship on objective health parameters and treatment adherence in chronic illnesses, this study sought to explore how patients perceived the patient-doctor relationship across virtual and in-person contexts.

Methods

Parents’ and patients’ perceptions of doctor-patient relationship were evaluated in 610 children and adolescents (12.17 ± 4.19 years, 50.9% girls) with type 1 diabetes who visited via video-conferencing or in person during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

No differences were found between video consultations and in-person visits in terms of care satisfaction (p > .05), doctor-patient relationship—for the dimensions agreement on tasks (p = .506) and bond (p = .828)—as perceived by parents and physician empathy as perceived by patients (p = .096). Parents rated patient-doctor agreement on explicit goals of treatment higher in video consultation than in person (p = .009, d = .211). Agreement on goals (β =  − .180, p = .016) and bond with doctor (β =  − .160, p = .034) were negatively and significantly associated with HbA1c values, but only in participants who visited in person.

Conclusions

Parents’ care satisfaction and perceptions of doctor-patient relationship, along with patients’ perceptions of physician empathy, did not substantially differ between visits carried out in person or via video consultations. Given the high risk of psychological problems described in young people with diabetes, video consultation can be considered a useful opportunity to maintain access to a healthcare provider in a challenging time, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12529-021-10047-5.

Cross-national comparison of psychosocial well-being and diabetes outcomes in adults with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in US, Brazil, and Iran

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health emergency, which presents wide-ranging negative impacts on individuals with diabetes. To examine psychosocial well-being and diabetes outcomes in individuals with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigate how these factors vary in different countries.

METHODS

Between April and June 2020 we employed a cross national comparative research study in the United States (US), Brazil, and Iran to collect data from 1788 adults with type 1 diabetes using web-based survey. Study participants answered questions relevant to diabetes distress, diabetes burnout, depressive symptoms, COVID-19 related changes, and socio-demographic characteristics. They also reported their last Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and daily Time-in-Range (TiR) blood glucose. We analyzed data using comparative tests (Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis and McNemar test), logistic and linear regression adjusted for fixed effects.

RESULTS

There were significant changes prior and during the pandemic regarding access to diabetes care, diabetes supplies and medications, healthy food and safe places to exercise in all countries (p < 0.05). Participants in Iran experienced higher levels of diabetes distress (57.1%), diabetes burnout (50%), and depressive symptoms (60.9%), followed by Brazil and US (p < 0.0001). US participants reported better glycemic control (HbA1c = 6.97%, T1R = 69.64%) compared to Brazil (HbA1c = 7.94%, T1R = 51.95%) and Iran (HbA1c = 7.47%, T1R = 51.53%) (p < 0.0001). There were also significant relationships between psychosocial well-being, diabetes outcomes, socio-demographic data, and COVID-19 related challenges in overall sample (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Regardless of differences among US, Brazil, and Iran, our findings revealed that different countries may experience similar challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic which can impact negatively diabetes outcomes and psychosocial well-being in individuals with type 1 diabetes. Countries need to consider modifiable variables associated with poor diabetes outcomes and sub optimal psychosocial well-being and target vulnerable population using significant socio-demographic variables.