Nurse coaching and mobile health compared with usual care to improve diabetes self-efficacy for persons with type 2 diabetes: Randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a growing public health problem amenable to prevention and health promotion. As healthy behaviors have an impact on disease outcomes, approaches to support and sustain diabetes self-management are vital. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse coaching program using motivational interviewing paired with mobile health (mHealth) technology on diabetes self-efficacy and self-management for persons with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This randomized controlled trial compared usual care with an intervention that entailed nurse health coaching and mHealth technology to track patient-generated health data and integrate these data into an electronic health record. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) enrolled at 1 of 3 primary care clinics, (2) aged 18 years or above, (3) living with type 2 diabetes, and (4) English-speaking. We collected outcome measures at baseline, 3 months, and 9 months. The primary outcome was diabetes self-efficacy; secondary outcomes were depressive symptoms, perceived stress, physical functioning, and emotional distress and anxiety. Linear regression mixed modeling estimated the population trends and individual differences in change. Results: We enrolled 319 participants; 287 participants completed the study (155 control and 132 intervention). The participants in the intervention group had significant improvements in diabetes self-efficacy (Diabetes Empowerment Scale, 0.34; 95% CI -0.15,0.53; P