Abstract 13360: Impact of Goal Setting in a Digital Health Coaching Program for Participants With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease remains one of the most common causes of death in people with diabetes. We retrospectively explored how a digital health coaching (DHC) program with goal-driven engagement for individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) influenced outcomes at 3 months. Methods: This retrospective analysis included de-identified results from overweight/obese individuals who participated in a 3-month DHC program tailored for people with diabetes, whose main goal was medication adherence. Participants were referred through employer programs, payor programs, or physicians. Changes in biometric variables and diabetes-related quality of life were assessed at 3 months. Results: Over one year (January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021), 182 participants engaged and completed the DHC program. Participants were predominantly women (79%), with an average age of 50, and racially/ethnically diverse (51% white, 49% non-white). Of this cohort, 24% lived in rural areas, and 44 participants had low medication adherence scores at baseline. At 3 months, there were significant decreases in diabetes distress score (27.14% reduction in diabetes distress; 2.91 to 2.12, p<0.001) and HbA1c (6.44% improvement; 7.61 to 7.12, p-0.0017). In addition, members with low medication adherence scores had a larger improvement than all members, with the main cohort improving the medication adherence score by 5.4% (10.34 to 10.90, p=0.058) and the low medication adherence group improving by 18.07% (7.55 to 8.91, p=0.007). Members with low medication adherence scores at baseline had significantly larger improvement than all other members, with 12.67% more improvement than members overall. Conclusions: Participants in the program showed improved outcomes for HbA1c and diabetes-related quality of life measures at 3 months. Engaging patients in DHC can help improve outcomes in populations at-risk of low adherence.