Structured nursing follow-up: does it help in diabetes care?

• Published in: Israel journal of health policy research 2014-08, Vol.3 (1), p.27-27, Article 27
• Main Authors: Shani, Michal, Nakar, Sasson, Lustman, Alex, Lahad, Amnon, Vinker, Shlomo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Care and treatment; Complications and side effects; Glycosylated hemoglobin; Measurement; Medical research; Medical screening; Medicine, Experimental; Original; Physicians; Prevention; Type 2 diabetes
• ISSN: 2045-4015; 2045-4015
• DOI: 10.1186/2045-4015-3-27

In 1995 Clalit Health Services introduced a structured follow-up schedule, by primary care nurses, of diabetic patients. This was supplementary care, given in addition to the family physician's follow-up care. This article aims to describe the performance of diabetes follow-up and diabetes control in patients with additional structured nursing follow-up care, compared to those patients followed only by their family physician. We randomly selected 2,024 type 2 diabetic subjects aged 40-76 years. For each calendar year, from 2005-2007, patients who were "under physician follow-up only" were compared to those who received additional structured nursing follow-up care. Complete diabetes follow-up parameters including: HbA1c, LDL cholesterol, microalbumin, blood pressure measurements and fundus examination. The average age of study participants was 60.7 years, 52% were females and 38% were from low socioeconomic status (SES). In 2005, 39.5% of the diabetic patients received structured nursing follow-up, and the comparable figures for 2006 and 2007 were 42.1% 49.6%, respectively. The intervention subjects tended to be older, from lower SES, suffered from more chronic diseases and visited their family physician more frequently than the control patients. Patients in the study group were more likely to perform a complete diabetes follow-up plan: 52.8% vs. 21.5% (2005; p