Intervention types and outcomes of integrated care for diabetes mellitus type 2: a systematic review

The delivery of integrated care is a priority in many countries' efforts to improve health outcomes for people at risk of or with diabetes. This study aims to provide an overview of the different types of integrated care interventions for type 2 diabetes and to report their outcomes.

A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed and Cochrane for the period 2003-2013. Article selection and data extraction were performed independently by three researchers and results were discussed together. The chronic care model (CCM) was used to describe intervention types.

Forty-four articles met the inclusion criteria. Most interventions included all CCM components and a variety of sub-components. Most studies reported positive patient, process and health service utilization measures. The information on costs was limited and inconsistent. The low number of articles reporting comparable outcome measures made it difficult to make meaningful statements about an association between intervention type and outcomes.

Future research would benefit from a more uniform understanding of integrated care as well as intermediate outcome measurements that allow for the establishment of a chain of evidence from specific intervention types to specific outcomes achieved. It is expected that such a comprehensive approach will reveal important insights as to which integrated care intervention types and settings are most conducive to successful implementation and would thereby be of relevance to policy makers and practitioners involved in the financing, management and delivery of integrated care.