With funding from the National VA Health Services Research and Development program, CMCD affiliate, Michele Heisler, MD, MPH and colleagues conducted a randomized trial evaluating the impact of peer support on diabetes patients’ self-management behavior, glycemic control, and service use.
CMCD staff developed a specialize telephone platform allowing peer support pairs to talk regularly without sharing personal information. The study showed that peer support program participants experienced a significantly greater improvement in glycemic control than patients receiving nurse care management. Patients in the peer-support group also reported more support for their diabetes care, and a greater number of peer-support patients initiated insulin therapy. Importantly, intervention benefits were greatest among patients who entered the trial with the poorest glycemic control, i.e., the patients most at risk for complications.
Learn more about the Peer-to-Peer Support Program.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Kaselitz at emaccorm@umich.edu.
Categories:
Diabetes, Informal Caregivers, Telephone, Veterans
