New Ways to Help Patients Improve Their Diabetes Control
Completed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Diabetes Mellitus
In brief
The percent of glycosylated hemoglobin, also known as a hemoglobin A1C value, is the standard way that clinicians assess a patient's diabetes control. Numerous studies have shown that maintaining a hemoglobin A1C value less than 7% is associated with lower rates of diabetes-related complications. Clinicians use this value to determine whether a patient with diabetes requires changes in their disease management. The main problem with this practice is that many patients do not understand what this number means. The goal of this project is to examine ways to make feedback about glycemic control easier for patients to understand. The hope is that improved patient understanding will result in an improvement in diabetic control and thus a reduction in disease-associated complications. Patients with a diagnosis of diabetes and a hemoglobin A1C value greater than 8% within the preceding three months will be eligible for the study. Pregnant women will be excluded. Given the nature of the intervention we will also exclude patients with cognitive deficits. In this study, patients will be randomized to three groups. The first group with be told their HgbA1C value only, the second group will be told a letter grade interpretation of that value, and the third group will be shown a face. The face emotions will range from happy to sad reflecting the level of control. The main outcome will be trend in hemoglobin A1C values over time. Secondary outcomes will include patient understanding of disease state and the number of hemoglobin A1C values checked following the intervention.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT01143870
- Run by
- University of Pennsylvania
- People needed
- 177
- Starts
- 2010-04-01
- Expected to finish
- 2011-07-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2018-02-28
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Patients over the age of 18 with diabetes mellitus listed as a problem list or in their past medical history on their electronic medical record who have a hemoglobin A1C value greater than 8% within three months of study enrollment.
You may not qualify if…
- Pregnant patients
- Illiterate patients
- Patients with known cognitive deficits affecting ability to participate in study
- Any current participants in another active research study
Where it is running
- University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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