The purpose of this study is to test whether providing personalized diabetes self-management recommendations and feedback improves blood sugar control more than providing generalized diabetes educational material alone.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common chronic disease that is rapidly rising in prevalence, affecting upwards of 35,000 adults in the Hamilton, Ontario region (population 400,000). The magnitude and growth of the problem and its serious health consequences suggest that: 1. diabetes is now a major public health problem; and 2. interventions at the community level are needed to mitigate its health impact. During the last 5 years, Diabetes Hamilton was successfully piloted as a free community-based program available to anyone with diabetes. It promotes diabetes self-management, self-efficacy and awareness through the provision of generalized diabetes information (e.g. newsletters, workshops, forums, resource directories) to consumers, local physicians and other health professionals. This trial will determine if supplementing Diabetes Hamilton with an automated tailored feedback system that: 1. provides information; 2. generates and communicates specific evidence-based recommendations to users from a self-administered questionnaire; 3. copies this communication to the patient's designated physician; 4. facilitates access to community resources; and 5. provides a simple way for the patient to track changes in indicators of health can improve A1c and other diabetes care indicators more than Diabetes Hamilton alone.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
500
A computer-generated feedback report that provides personalized diabetes self-management recommendations to participants based on their responses to a self-administered questionnaire.
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
A1c
Time frame: 6 months and 1 year
diabetes-related self-care behaviours, drug use, clinical outcomes
Time frame: 6 months and 1 year
diabetes-specific quality of life
Time frame: 1 year
incremental cost/quality-adjusted life-year [QALY]
Time frame: 6 months and 1 year
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.