Group sessions on personal goals gave people their own reasons to manage diabetes

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   178 adults with type 1 diabetes whose blood sugar was poorly controlled, at a university hospital in western Norway. They were about 37 on average; 90 were put in the groups and 88 kept their usual care.

2. 02

   What they did

   One group had seven 2-hour group sessions over 14 weeks. Before and between sessions, they filled in worksheets about daily problems with diabetes. Trained nurses helped each person set their own goals instead of giving orders. The other group kept their usual hospital visits and advice.

3. 03

   What happened

   About 9 months later, people in the groups had more of their own reasons to manage diabetes than the usual-care group. They did not feel more able to manage it, and their blood sugar did not differ. 42 of the 90 people in the groups dropped out. Only people who stayed were counted, and some of the paper's numbers don't add up.

What the study found

1. Helped

   Group sessions on personal goals gave people more of their own reasons to care for their diabetes than usual care.

   • Action: Talk through your mixed feelings about changingtested
   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Randomised trial of 178 adults with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes · vs people who kept their usual hospital care · they rated themselves · ⚠ many people dropped out; only counted people who finished; numbers unreliable

2. No difference

   The same group sessions did not make people feel more able to manage their diabetes than usual care.

   • Action: Talk through your mixed feelings about changingtested
   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Randomised trial of 178 adults with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes · vs people who kept their usual hospital care · they rated themselves · ⚠ many people dropped out; only counted people who finished; numbers unreliable

Source