Exploring the use of computer based patienteducation resources to enable diabeticpatients from underserved populations toself-manage their disease

摘要

This pilot randomized prospective controlled pilot study looked at computer based health information resources andtheir impact on control of diabetes.The study site was a large urban community health center with many Spanish-speakingpatients.Both the intervention(n=58)and control(n=50) groups of the study received standard of care diabetes treatment.The intervention group received additional computer based diabetes education in either English or Spanish from the Medline-Plus.gov website.Clinical measures and survey results were followed in both groups.In patients with diabetes,the HemoglobinAlc is a lab test that measures the level of blood sugar control over the past three months;a higher level is associated withincreased diabetes-related complications.LDL cholesterol is the type of cholesterol that is most relevant as a clinical indicatorin diabetes.The intervention group had a small decline in Hemoglobin A lc(-0.3%),and LDL cholesterol(-9.9 mg/dl),twoimportant clinical indicators, while the control group had a small increase in both Hemoglobin Alc(+0.1%)and LDL choles-terol(+0.5 mg/dl).The discussion also explores the benefits and challenges of introducing computer-based patient educationresources into a low-literacy population.