Can J Diabetes
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Comparative Study
Diabetes Management in Long-Term Care: An Exploratory Study of the Current Practices and Processes to Managing Frail Elderly Persons with Type 2 Diabetes.
There is limited evidence for the management of diabetes in frail elderly residents living in long-term care (LTC) settings. The purpose of this study was to explore the current practices of glycemic management in frail elderly persons with diabetes living in LTC settings. ⋯ The findings of this study were triangulated with both the quantitative survey and the qualitative interviews. The implications of these findings suggest a disparity between what physicians feel should be achieved for diabetes management and what is actually done for frail elderly adults in LTC settings. Further research needs to be completed to assess the distinct needs and considerations of this unique population and healthcare setting.
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Transition from specialists to primary care physicians is dependent on clear communication by means of a discharge letter. Primary care physicians have indicated that letters from specialists rarely contain the details they require. As part of a quality-improvement project to improve the transition from diabetes clinics to primary care physicians, a structured discharge letter template was developed to facilitate the dictation of useful letters by specialists. The objective was to evaluate the content and quality of discharge letters created using a structured discharge letter template as compared to letters completed without the template. ⋯ The use of a structured discharge letter template improved the content and quality of discharge letters dictated by specialists. Primary care physicians were more consistently provided with valued information and given criteria for re-referral.
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We evaluated the implementation of an efficacious collaborative care model for patients with diabetes and depression in a controlled trial in 4 community-based primary care networks (PCNs) in Alberta, Canada. Similar to previous randomized trials, the nurse care manager-led TeamCare intervention demonstrated statistically significant improvements in depressive symptoms compared with usual care. We contextualized TeamCare's effectiveness by describing implementation fidelity at the organizational and patient levels. ⋯ Despite suboptimal implementation in Alberta's primary care context, TeamCare resulted in improved outcomes similar to those demonstrated in previous randomized trials. A stronger culture of collaborative care would likely have yielded greater implementation fidelity and possibly better outcomes.
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This study assessed the feasibility of diagnosing painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) using a postal self-completed Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS) questionnaire, and it compared the prevalence of PDN in patients with diabetes attending primary and secondary care. ⋯ The overall prevalence of PDN in this study was 30.3%. The results demonstrated the use of self-administered S-LANSS was easy and can be used for epidemiologic surveys of PDN. The results are comparable to and similar to other published series, in both primary and secondary care settings.