Developing and Evaluating SEE-Diabetes: A Patient-Centered Educational Decision Support System for Diabetes Care

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Informatics
• Diabetes Management

Background:

• Older adults with diabetes often face challenges in managing their condition, necessitating improved patient-provider communication.
• Shared decision-making (SDM) is crucial for empowering patients in their diabetes care, but effective tools are needed.
• The Support-Engage-Empower-Diabetes (SEE-Diabetes) tool was developed to facilitate SDM in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the SEE-Diabetes tool in promoting SDM for diabetes management in older adults.
• To assess the tool's ability to enhance patient engagement and collaborative goal setting.
• To determine if SEE-Diabetes differentiates provider engagement in patient-centered conversations.

Main Methods:

• A feasibility study utilizing simulated clinical encounters at the University of Missouri Health Care.
• Analysis of 12 video-recorded encounters involving simulated patients and healthcare providers.
• Mixed-methods approach employing the Observational Patient Involvement (OPTION) scale, Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-Doc), and conversation analysis.

Main Results:

• Average scores for SDM-Q-Doc and OPTION scale were 52.6 and 75.9, respectively.
• Active provider engagement with SEE-Diabetes significantly improved SDM and patient-centered goal setting.
• Providers reported positive feedback on the tool's patient-centricity and potential for integration.

Conclusions:

• SEE-Diabetes shows promise in enhancing patient-provider interactions for older adults with diabetes.
• The tool has the potential to bridge communication gaps and increase patient involvement in healthcare decisions.
• SEE-Diabetes offers an innovative approach to diabetes management, promoting active patient participation.