Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics company, presented findings at the 2022 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions from November 5–7, 2022. The study, entitled “The Impact of Goal Setting in a Digital Health Coaching Program for Participants with Type 2 Diabetes”, was developed to investigate digital health coaching (DHC) as a feasible support intervention for individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Many individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes can experience challenges in managing their condition, which is often presented alongside a common comorbidity–heart disease. In fact, studies have shown the devastating impact of both conditions on managing diabetes, including maintaining blood pressure.1,2 Research has shown that goal setting and digital health coaching have been highlighted as effective interventions in helping individuals with type 2 diabetes to manage the condition and other existing comorbidities, with a particularly positive impact on medication adherence.3
To evaluate the feasibility of the DHC intervention, more than 180 participants were provided access to 12 weeks of a personalized health coaching program tailored for individuals with type 2 diabetes with a Health Advisor from Pack Health. The participants and their individual Health Advisors communicated weekly via email, text, or phone and discussed topics related to their condition, including effective goal setting. During these weekly conversations, the participants and the Health Advisors discussed progress made on incremental health-related goals, known as Tiny Steps. All participants chose the goal of improving medication adherence. Participant data were collected at baseline and at 12 weeks, measuring changes in diabetes-related quality of life metrics.
Intervention results showed that the digital health coaching intervention was effective in helping to support participants in their goal of improving their medication adherence. Additionally, there were significant improvements in HbA1c and diabetes-related outcome measures, such as the diabetes distress score.
Jasmine Moore, PharmD, manager of medical affairs and research at Pack Health, presented the findings throughout the conference. “Clinicians and allied health and life science professionals come to AHA to learn and discuss ways to push healthcare forward and that’s why we chose the Scientific Sessions to debut this research,” Moore explained. “Our study demonstrated that an intervention such as digital health coaching can help our population manage their condition while trying to mitigate existing comorbidities of cardiovascular disease and obesity.”
View the full poster here. Please visit here to learn more about research at Pack Health.
Pack Health is a patient-engagement company specializing in comprehensively addressing chronic conditions and comorbidities influenced by mental health, lifestyle behaviors, access to care, and social determinants of health (SDOH). Pack Health employs certified Health Advisors trained across 30 chronic conditions who engage, motivate, monitor, and support individuals through a digital engagement platform, providing personalized content.
References
1. Einarson TR, Acs A, Ludwig C, Panton UH. Prevalence of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes: a systematic literature review of scientific evidence from across the world in 2007-2017. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2018;17(1):83. doi:10.1186/s12933-018-0728-6
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Diabetes and your heart. Updated: 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-and-heart.html
3. Martin M, Patterson J, Allison M, O’Connor BB, Patel D. T The Influence of baseline hemoglobin A1c on digital health coaching outcomes in adults with type 2 diabetes: real-world retrospective cohort study. JMIR Diabetes. 2021;6(2):e24981. doi:10.2196/24981
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