Experiences with tailoring of primary diabetes care in well-organised general practices: a mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND: Dutch standard diabetes care is generally protocol-driven. However, considering that general practices wish to tailor diabetes care to individual patients and encourage self-management, particularly in light of current COVID-19 related constraints, protocols and other barriers may hinder implementation. The impact of dispensing with protocol and implementation of self-management interventions on patient monitoring and experiences are not known. This study aims to evaluate tailoring of care by understanding experiences of well-organised practices 1) when dispensing with protocol; 2) determining the key conditions for successful implementation of self-management interventions; and furthermore exploring patients’ experiences regarding dispensing with protocol and self-management interventions. METHODS: in this mixed-methods prospective study, practices (n = 49) were invited to participate if they met protocol-related quality targets, and their adult patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes were invited if they had received protocol-based diabetes care for a minimum of 1 year. For practices, study participation consisted of the opportunity to deliver protocol-free diabetes care, with selection and implementation of self-management interventions. For patients, study participation provided exposure to protocol-free diabetes care and self-management interventions. Qualitative outcomes (practices: 5 focus groups, 2 individual interviews) included experiences of dispensing with protocol and the implementation process of self-management interventions, operationalised as implementation fidelity. Quantitative outcomes (patients: routine registry data, surveys) consisted of diabetes monitoring completeness, satisfaction, wellbeing and health status at baseline and follow-up (24 months). RESULTS: In participating practices (n = 4), dispensing with protocol encouraged reflection on tailored care and selection of various self-management interventions. A focus on patient preferences, team collaboration and intervention feasibility was associated with high implementation fidelity. In patients (n = 126), likelihood of complete monitoring decreased significantly after two years (OR 0.2 (95% CI 0.1–0.5), p < 0.001). Satisfaction decreased slightly (− 1.6 (95% CI -2.6;-0.6), p = 0.001). Non-significant declines were found in wellbeing (− 1.3 (95% CI -5.4; 2.9), p = 0.55) and health status (− 3.0 (95% CI -7.1; 1.2), p = 0.16). CONCLUSIONS: To tailor diabetes care to individual patients within well-organised practices, we recommend dispensing with protocol while maintaining one structural annual monitoring consultation, combined with the well-supported implementation of feasible self-management interventions. Interventions should be selected and delivered with the involvement of patients and should involve population preferences and solid team collaborations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-021-07198-2.