Improving Insulin Therapy With Enhanced Care Management

Background:

VA diabetes patients often have difficulty managing their self-care and accessing clinic-based services; many also lack social support to help them meet the demands of their illness. Enhanced support is especially important when undertaking and sustaining new challenging self-care tasks, such as initiating or intensifying insulin treatment regimens. Although some VAs have implemented telephone nurse care management programs supported by automated calling services, many are reluctant to adopt these models due to nursing shortages.

Objectives:

This randomized trial will evaluate an intervention using a low-cost interactive voice response (IVR) exchange system to promote peer-to-peer communication among diabetes patients initiating or increasing insulin therapy under medical guidance. The intervention is based on research demonstrating the positive impact of peer support on chronic disease outcomes and self-care behaviors, our own prior studies demonstrating the effectiveness of IVR-based self-management supports for VA diabetes patients, and a successful pilot study demonstrating VA diabetes patients' willingness to participate in IVR-facilitated peer support. The Specific Aims are: (1) To evaluate the effect of IVR-facilitated peer support on diabetes patients' glycemic control (including their A1c levels, insulin doses, hypo- and hyperglycemic symptoms) and use of VA care; (2) To assess the impact of IVR-facilitated peer support on patient-centered outcomes, including patients' satisfaction with care, perceived social support, diabetes-specific quality of life, and self-care behaviors; and (3) To identify patient characteristics associated with participation and use of IVR peer support, and mediators of the intervention's impact on patient outcomes.

Methods:

324 diabetes patients with inadequate glycemic control who are candidates for insulin initiation or intensification will be recruited from 2 VA facilities (Ann Arbor, and Toledo). We will pair eligible patients based on age, gender, and whether they are initiating or increasing insulin. Pairs will be randomized to either: 1) usual care; or 2) usual care in conjunction with the IVR-based peer support program. After their orientation, intervention participants will be asked to communicate weekly with their partner using the IVR exchange. The IVR service is designed to allow patients to communicate without divulging their home phone number, experiencing toll charges, or being responsible for insuring that contacts occur without the assistance of reminder prompts. Intervention patients who have achieved adequate glycemic control at their 6-month follow up will be encouraged to select a new treatment goal. Patients will continue to participate in weekly IVR calls for 6 months. Research staff will monitor the process via the Internet, and outcomes will be measured at six months. The primary endpoint will be HbA1c levels at 6 and 12-months. Secondary endpoints include other physiological measures and patient-centered outcomes. The intervention is designed to interact with standard outpatient VA staffing models. We will develop detailed training materials that facilitate implementation in other facilities and work with clinical managers to facilitate roll-out if the intervention is found to be effective.

Status:

Recruitment of participants is complete as well as most preliminary data analyses. 12 month data is now being analyzed.