CANADIAN JOURNAL OF DIABETES
VOLUME 35 – NUMBER 3 – 2011
Development and Pilot-Testing of a Brief Psychosocial Group Intervention Protocol for Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management
Brigitte C. Sabourin BA, T. Michael Vallis PhD rPsych, Shannon Currie, PhD
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ABSTRACT
Objectives
To develop a brief psychosocial intervention protocol for type 2 diabetes self-management and pilot-test its implementation.
Methods
A 6-session evidence-based psychosocial intervention protocol was developed focusing on the role of behaviour modification, maintenance of motivation and emotion management in type 2 diabetes self-management. The intervention was pilot-tested with 15 individuals with type 2 diabetes recruited from participants in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study.
Results
Repeated-measures analyses of variance of validated psychosocial and behavioural outcome measures revealed that following the intervention, diabetes-related distress and intake of high-fat foods decreased and exercise participation increased. Furthermore, all participants found the intervention to be helpful for diabetes management. The most helpful aspect of the group sessions, derived from inductive classical content analysis of open-ended feedback questionnaires, was the development of friendship and trust in openly sharing experiences with group members.
Conclusion
This promising intervention should be further tested using a randomized, controlled trial. The protocol could then be developed as a training manual so that other university-educated professionals could deliver the intervention to people with diabetes, helping to fulfill 1 of the Canadian Diabetes Association’s clinical guidelines: providing psychosocial interventions as part of diabetes care.