Identification of Important Factors Affecting Use of Digital Individualised Coaching and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes in General Practice: A Qualitative Feasibility Study.

Pernille Ravn Jakobsen,Carl J Brandt,Jens Steen Nielsen,Jeanette Reffstrup Christensen,Jens Søndergaard,Jette Kolding Kristensen,Dorte Ejg Jarbøl,Michael Hecht Olsen,Jesper Bo Nielsen

doi:10.3390/ijerph18083924

Abstract

Most type 2 diabetes patients are treated in general practice and there is a need of developing and implementing efficient lifestyle interventions. eHealth interventions have shown to be effective in promoting a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility, including the identification of factors of importance, when offering digital lifestyle coaching to type 2 diabetes patients in general practice. We conducted a qualitative feasibility study with focus group interviews in four general practices. We identified two overall themes and four subthemes: (1) the distribution of roles and lifestyle interventions in general practice (subthemes: external and internal distribution of roles) and (2) the pros and cons for digital lifestyle interventions in general practice (subthemes: access to real life data and change in daily routines). We conclude that for digital lifestyle coaching to be feasible in a general practice setting, it was of great importance that the general practitioners and practice nurses knew the role and content of the intervention. In general, there was a positive attitude in the general practice setting towards referring type 2 diabetes patients to digital lifestyle intervention if it was easy to refer the patients and if easily understandable and accessible feedback was implemented into the electronic health record. It was important that the digital lifestyle intervention was flexible and offered healthcare providers in general practice an opportunity to follow the type 2 diabetes patient closely.

Highlights

We found that it is important to be aware of the distribution of roles externally and internally when it comes to optimising the treatment of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) through digital lifestyle interventions in a general practice setting
Our specific aim with this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a digital lifestyle intervention by identifying factors of importance when conducting digital individualised and collaborative treatment of T2D in a general practice setting
The general practitioner (GP) and practice nurse (PN) were positive towards referring T2D patients to a digital lifestyle intervention if it was easy to refer the patients and if they received understandable and accessible feedback that was implemented directly into the electronic health record

Summary

Introduction

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has an increasing prevalence globally, and there is substantial potential to improve prevention as well as treatment, thereby reducing societal costs and increasing patients’ quality of life [1]. Successful treatment to reduce the risk factors and prevent complications of T2D typically comprises many components, including medicine and lifestyle changes [2]. In Denmark there are around 300,000 adult diabetes patients.

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