Evaluating an Outpatient Diabetes Program Telephone Follow-Up Process on Glycosylated Hemoglobin Levels

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if increased frequency of telephone contact immediately following diabetes self-management education (DSME) impacts improvements in A1C levels versus routine telephone follow-up. Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design consisting of a control group (n = 30) who received routine follow-up (1 telephone call 4-6 weeks after DSME class completion) and an intervention group (n = 26) who received an average of 5 telephone calls over a 3-month period following DSME. Participants were obtained from an outpatient diabetes education program assoctiated with a large urban health care system. Results: Most participants were female, White, with the average age of 57.2 years (SD = 14.1). Preintervention A1C levels ranged from 6.5% to 14.3%, whereas postintervention A1C levels ranged from 5.2% to 13.6%. There was significant improvement in A1C levels for both the intervention and the control groups. However, no statistically significant difference in A1C change scores was found between the groups. Sixty percent of the control group participants had post-A1C levels below 7% compared to 54% of the intervention group. Increased telephone contact was associated with A1C reductions, although this relationship was not statistically significant. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that A1C reductions can occur with either frequency of telephone follow-up. The diabetes educator should evaluate the telephone follow-up needs of each DSME participant to support his or her diabetes self-management success.