Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if improvements observed in clinical, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes measured at 12 months following a multifaceted diabetes care intervention were sustained at 3-year follow-up.
Methods: This study was a multilevel, nonblinded, cluster design, randomized controlled trial that took place in an underserved suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, between 1999 and 2005. Eleven primary care practices, and their patients, were randomly assigned to 3 groups: chronic care model (CCM) intervention (n = 30), provider education only (PROV) (n = 38), and usual care (UC) (n = 51). Subjects were followed for 3 years.
Results: Improvements observed at 12-month follow-up in glycemic (-0.5%) and blood pressure control (-4.8 mm Hg), and the proportion of participants who self-monitor their blood glucose (86.7%-100%), were sustained at 3-year follow-up in the CCM group. Additional improvements occurred in non-HDLc levels in all study groups and quality of well-being scores in the CCM intervention group. All associations remained after controlling for medication treatment intensification.
Conclusions: We have demonstrated that improvements in outcomes can be sustained over time following a multifaceted diabetes care intervention. Future research in this area is necessary to understand if improvements in outcomes can be sustained following diabetes self-management education (DSME) and what type of patient fares the best from multifaceted diabetes care interventions.