Feasibility and efficacy of nurse-led team management intervention for improving the self-management of type 2 diabetes patients in a Chinese community: a randomized controlled trial

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and efficacy of nurse-led team management (NLTM) intervention at improving the self-management of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) at community settings in Changsha, Hunan, China. BACKGROUND: China has become the country with the largest number of patients with diabetes, and that number is growing, causing increasing pressure on the health care system. At present, the main diabetes management model in China is teamwork guided by general practitioners. However, the number of general practitioners is insufficient, and their work is overloaded, which leads to poor outcomes of diabetes management. Therefore, it is important to explore alternative methods of diabetes management, such as NLTM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 171 T2D patients were randomized into the control or intervention arm. Participants in the control group received routine management from the community health service center, whereas the intervention group received 12 months NLTM intervention in addition to the standard care. The diabetes self-management scale, fasting blood sugar, and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were assessed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months after the start of the intervention. RESULTS: Baseline data were comparable between arms. Repeated-measurement analysis showed that self-management of the intervention group improved compared with the control group after the intervention (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in HbA1c at 6 months, whereas after 12 months of intervention, there was a significant difference in HbA1c between the two groups (F=10.114, P<0.05). The intervention had no significant effect on fasting blood sugar. CONCLUSION: The NLTM intervention has resulted in an impact of practical significance on T2D self-management, and was beneficial for controlling the level of HbA1c. The study has demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of using NLTM in the management of T2D in a Chinese community.