Group Conference Call Diabetes Educational Support Sessions: A Pilot Study.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the acceptability of group-conference-call diabetes educational support sessions for rural dwelling southern African-American women and to describe the impact on diabetes distress. Pre- post-test design was utilized to determine any change in scores on questionnaires. Qualitative techniques were utilized to determine the acceptability of the conference callformat. Participants recruited (N = 3) manifested either dysglycemia or frank type 2 diabetes. Diabetes distress and knowledge tools, demographics, baseline laboratory data, and measures of body habitus were obtained. An adapted version of the American Association of Diabetes Educator's Association diabetes education curriculum was used to provide the classes. The conference call intervention was found to be convenient, informative, and it removed the hassle of needing to be in one location to receive education. Diabetes distress was reduced (p = 0.005) in the sub-scale related regimen management. Offering alternatives to in-person diabetes education classes has the potential to reduce levels of opportunity costs and include a larger number of individuals living chaotic lives due to the demands of chronic illness and extended family needs.