InquisitHealth, Inc. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NIMHD

Description

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant The Specific Aim of this proposal is to test the feasibility of developing utilizing and evaluating a web based diabetes self management support DSMS training program that is culturally tailored for the African American community Effective self management is the key to improving diabetes outcomes avoiding complications and reducing costs Ongoing maintenance of self management is particularly challenging among many African Americans Diabetes self management education DSME was developed to address this critical gap in self management support When culturally tailored DSME can be particularly effective in African American communities However the impact of DSME is not long lasting Ongoing diabetes self management support DSMS after DSME has been used to sustain the positive effects of DSME Peer mentors trained lay individuals successfully managing their own diabetes are an affordable and effective means of delivering DSMS Peer mentors are currently trained in person which greatly limits the number of peer mentors that can be trained due to lack of scalability of such training Thus we propose the development and evaluation of a web based DSMS training of peer mentors in lieu of in person training To achieve our Phase I Specific Aim we will carry out four Tasks Task Conduct focus groups We will conduct two focus groups with uncontrolled diabetes patients each and two focus groups with diabetes peer mentors each The goal is to understand how to translate the African American tailored in person training material into an effective web based program Task Develop DSMS Training Program Prototype for Peer Mentors web based e Learning modules and assessments will be created based on the modules developed and proven effective by Tang et al Task Evaluate Peer Training Efficacy with Subjects Recruit diabetes peer mentor candidates to complete the web based training and evaluations accounting for attrition Training Criteria to be Met More than of mentors must pass all of the individual passing criteria andgt score on the Diabetes Knowledge Test andgt score on the Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire and mean score of andgt on the Understanding Management Practice scale on of the empowerment based vignettes and at least on the remaining vignettes andgt on Self Efficacy Survey passing score in Goal Setting Simulation and a mean score andgt on an adapted version of the Active Listening Observation Scale Task Evaluate Feasibility of DSMS Delivered by Peer Mentors A two arm randomized clinical trial will assess the feasibility of using web trained peer mentors to deliver DSMS after DSME in the African American community Test of Feasibility We expect a difference in HbA c reduction to be sustained at months Phase II Plans Develop a set of similar products for multiple diversity groups and conduct a large multi arm randomized clinical trial to test efficacy of peer delivered DSMS to support commercialization of the product PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Diabetes Self Management Education DSME is a proven means of helping improve diabetes metabolic control however the positive impact on health outcomes diminishes with time Therefore both the American Diabetes Association ADA and the American Association of Diabetes Educators AADE recommend that Diabetes Self Management Support DSMS complement DSME Peer mentors trained lay individuals successfully managing their own diabetes are a cost effective means of delivering DSMS InquisitHealthandapos s proposed web based peer mentor training and mentor management system is a means of scaling DSMS widely and with cultural relevance