Psychosocial health care needs of people with type 2 diabetes in primary care: Views of patients and health care providers.
Corinne Stoop, François Pouwer, Victor Pop and 2 others
PMID 30883846WHAT IT FOUND
People with diabetes and providers differed on psychosocial needs.
Patients preferred diabetes-related distress to be handled by familiar diabetes nurses, while non-diabetes problems suggested psychologist or social worker referral.
Key findings
01Patients and healthcare providers differed on whether psychosocial support was needed; several patients reported no psychosocial problems and several providers saw no heightened need.
02Needs centred on the burden of living with diabetes, especially treatment demands and fitting recommendations into daily life.
03Patients preferred diabetes-related distress to be handled by a diabetes nurse, while non-diabetes or complex problems suggested referral to a psychologist or social worker.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Findings come from one region of the Netherlands, mainly rural or semi-rural areas, so city or other health system views may differ. People who were illiterate or did not understand Dutch were excluded, so the study may miss patients with language or literacy barriers. The study included 20 patients and 18 providers, so it describes views, not how common they are. It did not collect quantitative data on hypo- and hyperglycemia, HbA1c, or family support, so links to clinical diabetes control or support were not examined. Qualitative focus groups cannot show that any psychosocial care approach improves outcomes.
Declared interests
Funded by ZonMw The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development and Tilburg University. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that nurse-led psychosocial care improves diabetes outcomes. The study reports focus group views, not an intervention trial.