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Study on providing empathy to improve behaviour of people with diabetes

Amity Island

Amity Island

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
The RCT by Kahlon and colleagues randomly allocated 260 adults aged 21 years or older with uncontrolled diabetes who were receiving care at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Central Texas to receive empathy-focused emotional support (129 participants) or usual care (131 participants)

The layperson-delivered call program that Kahlon and colleagues tested was unique in that it focused almost exclusively on establishing an empathetic and supportive connection.

Kahlon et al hypothesized that empathetic support would reduce emotional burden, which would in turn lead to improved ability to engage in healthy behaviors. Secondary outcomes included symptoms of depression and anxiety.

 
I found this interesting from the link, especially in the context of peer support on the forum:

Overall, participants in the intervention group had statistically significantly greater reductions in HbA1c (difference, −0.7% [95% CI, 1.0% to −0.4%]) vs those in the usual care group (difference, 0.0% [95% CI, −0.4% to 0.4%]). The effect was larger when only participants with Patient Health Questionnaire-9 depression symptom scores of 5 or greater at trial enrollment were evaluated (99 participants). For these participants, HbA1c reduction was 1.1% (95% CI, 0.5% to 1.8%) in the intervention group vs no change in usual care group (difference, 0.1% [95% CI, −0.7% to 0.8%]). Notably, self-reported mental health did not change, overall or in subgroups stratified by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores.​
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Intervention group participants, in addition to phone calls, received mailed educational materials on diabetes management, whereas usual care participants did not. However, basic information alone is unlikely to lead to meaningful behavioral change. Furthermore, usual diabetes care typically includes this type of information. Thus, the RCT by Kahlon et al [4] raises the intriguing possibility that the critical ingredient for many people with diabetes who want to improve glycemic control could be social support. Indeed, this would be consistent with considerable evidence that links social support, defined as the perception or reality that one is cared for and has assistance available from others, to positive health behaviors and outcomes.[5]​
 
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