Effects of Shared Medical Appointments for Diabetic Patients in Taiwan

Effects of the Shared Medical Appointments on Blood Glucose and Self-care Efficacy for Middle-aged Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

This quasi-experimental study is done to investigate the effect of Shared Medical Appointments (SMA) program for the diabetic patients in Taiwan. The relevant corresponding effects were determined via the generalized estimating equation (GEE) model.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diabetes Mellitus
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Shared Medical Appointments

Detailed Description

Study design and participants A quasi-experimental pre-posttest control group design, with purposive sampling, was used to recruit participants from the Endocrinology department of a hospital in southern Taiwan from Jan to Dec in 2019. The inclusion criteria were (i) being at least 20 years old at the time of recruitment (ii) having no cognitive impairment and severe complications, (iii) being able to express opinions in either Mandarin or Taiwanese, and (iv) having a diagnosis of diabetes. To ensure participants' anonymity, all questionnaires were marked with an encryption code to facilitate data analysis, but with no personal identifiers.

Sample size calculation Sample size calculation for this analysis of repeated measures to detect an effect size of 0.4 at 80% power and a 0.05 significance level indicated that a sample size of 56 patients is needed (according to G- POWER 3.1 analytical software, Franz Faul, Universitat Kiel, Germany). A sample of at least 68 participants for both groups combined was required on the basis of these parameters, allowing for a 20% attrition rate.

Intervention Because continued participation was essential for this study, the participants were divided into the experiment or control group in accordance with the personal willingness. The control group received routine health education lasting for about 30 minutes per medical visit, which consisted of consultation about disease symptoms, related treatments, and self-care skills. They would receive health education instruction leaflets for reference purposes if necessary.

The experiment group received four shared medical appointments (SMP) -based group education sessions (7-10 participants, 1.5 hours each) for four consecutive weeks in addition to routine health education at a private room in the outpatient unit. One registered nurse who received SMP facilitator training, from the Taiwanese Association of Diabetic Educators, served as the class facilitator. SMP sessions were conducted using several colored maps covering different topics, which included "healthy diet and exercises", "relevant treatment towards diabetic medications", " self-monitoring of blood glucose," and "treatment on hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia" . This procedure served to create mutual imagery to be shared with participants. In addition to using these colored maps, the facilitator further offered participants self-designed conversation cards and asked them to share individual glycemic control experiences based on the questions shown on the cards.

Outcome measures The primary outcomes were composed of two self-development tools, namely diabetic self-management questionnaire (DSMQ) as well as diabetic self-care questionnaire (DSCQ).

On the other hand, the consideration of covariates contained additional items addressing demographic and disease characteristics were developed based on clinical experience and literature review, and were collected at study entry via patient interviews and medical records. Demographic data included sex, age, marital status, education level, religion, household status, monthly income, and certain lifestyle factors, such as smoking, exercise habits, and presence of sleep disturbances. Smoking status was recorded as "non-smoker" or "current or ex-smoker." Those who exercised regularly (i.e., weekly) were classified as having "exercise habits." Sleep disturbances were defined as waking up at night more than twice without external factors during the week before the interview. Disease characteristics included the presence of chronic disease (i.e., stroke, hypertension, heart disease, renal disease, or cancer), medication regimen, and duration of diabetes.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 70
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Chiayi
    • Chiayi City, Chiayi, Taiwan, 62247
      • Pin-Fan Chen

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• being at least 20 years old at the time of recruitment,
• having no cognitive impairment and severe complications,
• being able to express opinions in either Mandarin or Taiwanese, and
• having a diagnosis of DM.

Exclusion Criteria:

• being unwillingness to participant this work
• Attending the similar health education program in the past

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Shared Medical Appointments; This strategy is conducted by groups of patients meeting over time for comprehensive care, usually involving a practitioner with prescribing privileges, for a defining chronic condition or health care state. Meanwhile, this model often use educational and/or self-management enhancement strategies, paired with medication management, in an effort to achieve improved disease outcomes.	Other: Shared Medical Appointments; SMA is a subset of such clinics and are defined by groups of patients meeting over time for comprehensive care for a defining chronic condition or health care state, which involved both a person trained or skilled in delivering patient education or facilitating patient interaction.; Other Names: Standard care
No Intervention: Standard care; Routine health education without more advanced illustration

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
the self-management level assessed by the self-developed scale	up to six months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
the self-care level assessed by the self-developed scale	up to six months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital
• Investigators: Study Director: Pin-Fan Chen, Dalin Tzuchi Hospital, The Buddhist Tzuchi Medical Foundation

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 23, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 4, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): September 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 13, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 4, 2023
• Last Verified: September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: effect; Taiwan; Diabete Mellitus
• Other Study ID Numbers: B10703021

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No