Identification of patient-centered outcomes among African American women with type 2 diabetes

• Published in: Diabetes research and clinical practice Vol. 106; no. 3; pp. 487 - 490
• Main Authors: Miller, Stephania T, Akohoue, Sylvie A, Brooks, Malinda A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Adult; African American women, African Americans; African Americans; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - ethnology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - psychology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - therapy; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Female; Humans; Life Style; Middle Aged; Patient Education as Topic - methods; Patient engagement; Patient Satisfaction; Patient-Centered Care - methods; Patient-centered outcomes; Self Care - methods; Self-management; United States - epidemiology; Self-management; Patient-centered outcomes; Patient engagement; Diabetes; African American women, African Americans
• ISSN: 0168-8227; 1872-8227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2014.09.049

Abstract Aims African American women carry a disproportionate diabetes burden, yet there is limited information on strategies to identify outcomes women perceive as important intervention outcomes (patient-centered outcomes). This study presents a brief strategy to solicit these outcomes and to describe outcomes identified using the highlighted strategy. Methods Thirty-four African-American women with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in group-based, diabetes/weight management interventions. A diabetes educator asked participants to write down their intervention expectations followed by verbal sharing of responses. Expectation-related themes were identified using an iterative, qualitative, team analytic approach based on audio-recorded responses. Results The majority of the expectation-related themes (6 of 10) were reflective of self-care education/management and weight loss-related patient-centered outcomes. The remaining themes were associated with desires to help others prevent or manage diabetes, reduce negative diabetes-related emotions, get rid of diabetes, and stop taking diabetes medications. Conclusion This study adds to a limited body of knowledge regarding patient-centered outcomes among a group that experiences a disproportionate diabetes burden. Future work could include integrating outcomes that are less commonly addressed in diabetes-related lifestyle interventions (e.g., diabetes-related negative emotions), along with more commonly addressed outcomes (e.g., weight loss), to increase the patient-centeredness of the interventions.