A study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that patients suffering from diabetes benefit from peer-support programs. CNN Health brought the study to our attention.
The new findings indicate that phone calls between peers with diabetes are effective in improving patient blood sugar control. Phone calls between peers also offer an alternative to conventional nurse-care programs, which may not provide enough face-to-face meeting time to be efficient.
Michele Heisler, lead researcher of the study and associate professor of Medicine and Health Behavior and Health Education at University of Michigan, told CNN that she believes support and encouragement are crucial.
We know that many, many people with diabetes know what they are supposed to be doing taking medications, starting insulin if oral medications alone no longer work well enough, following diet plans, maintaining physical activity, monitoring disease status and symptoms but [patients] find it too difficult to do well. They also may know what they are supposed to do but not how to do it, Heisler told CNN. Many people need more self-management support than over-extended health care systems can provide.
Heislers team reviewed 244 male patients with uncontrolled diabetes who had consistently high blood sugar levels for three months before the study began. The researchers assigned half the men to a peer-support regimen and the other half to a traditional nurse-care program.
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