Diabetes Self-Management Education at a Patient-Centered Medical Home

Background: Diabetes is an epidemic disproportionally affecting the aging population. Many older adults are facing diabetes self-management (DSM) difficulties and challenges due to the lack of customized and tailored diabetes education. To offer additional support to patients of a patient-centered medical home clinic (PCMH), serving primarily low-income individuals in southwest Michigan, additional DSM education consisting of a 4-hour session was offered by an interdisciplinary team (PCMH providers, health educator, and dietitian) on-site at the PCMH as a service to the community.

Methods: To assess the effectiveness of these 4-hour DSM sessions offered on-site at the PCMH, we compared participants’ (n=37) demographics and clinical outcomes to a sample of PCMH participants who only attended the traditional diabetes self-management education (DSME) off-site, (n=133). Clinical information from medical records was collected.

Results: among participants of both groups, PCMH on-site education and traditional DSME, women were more likely than men to attend DSM-related education (p,.03 and p, .01) respectively; however, no statistical significance was found among different races among men or women. Hemoglobin A1c levels of participants attending PCMH on-site education dropped significantly to below 7% (p, .007); however, there was no statistical significance found in hemoglobin A1c levels in those who only attended traditional DSME.

Conclusion: PCMH on-site DSM education is an effective tool in decreasing participants’ hemoglobin A1c to a statistically and clinically significant level below 7%. PCMH on-site DSM sessions are continuing to be offered for those who need extra support.