Author(s)

Esther C. Gallegos-Cabriales¹, Juana Mercedes Gutiérrez-Valverde¹, Bertha Cecilia Salazar-González¹, Antonia M. Villarruel², Rosa Alicia Veloz-Garza¹, Nicolle Marinec³, John D. Piette^3,4

¹School of Nursing, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, México.
²School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
⁴Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Aims and objectives: To test an automated telephone service as a follow-up and support strategy for self-care in a population of adult Mexican patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: The design was a two-group comparative design, with pre and post-intervention measurements. Patients were assigned into intervention (n = 31), or comparison (n = 33) groups. Over 12 weeks, each participant in the intervention group received automated phone calls with instructions to facilitate accomplishment of the treatment, and self-care activities. Two focus groups helped to appreciate patients’ follow-up experience. Randomized grouping was performed by selecting numbers from an urn; the final sample comprised 31 (48%) patients in the intervention group, and 33 (52%) in the comparison group; these procedures were performed by the case nurse management. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon and the University of Michigan; all of the participants signed informed consent. Results: Of the 372 programmed phone calls made to the participants, 234 were completed, representing a 62.9% response rate. Phone calls may be associated to a 0.82% decrease in the HbA1c values and to lower depression scores. HbA1c measurements decreased 0.82% (M = 7.41 - 6.69; t = 25; 4.11; p = ?0.001) from the baseline values over the 12-week study in the intervention group and 0.49% (M = 7.24 - 6.75; t = 26; 2.11; p = 0.044) in the comparison group. Variables related to medication intake did not exhibit differences between the baseline and second measurements, except with respect to the scale of depression.

Diabetes, Self-Care, Technology, Information Technology, Intervention, Chronic Illness, Counseling, Self-Management, Telenursing

Gallegos-Cabriales, E. , Gutiérrez-Valverde, J. , Salazar-González, B. , M. Villarruel, A. , Veloz-Garza, R. , Marinec, N. and D. Piette, J. (2017) Automated Telephone Calls in the Follow-Up of Self-Care in Outpatients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Feasibility Study. Health, 9, 1529-1541. doi: 10.4236/health.2017.911113.