Premium
Systematic review of peer education intervention programmes among individuals with type 2 diabetes
Author(s) -
Gatlin Tricia K,
Serafica Reimund,
Johnson Michael
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.13991
Subject(s) - jadad scale , psychological intervention , medicine , peer education , randomized controlled trial , systematic review , type 2 diabetes , medline , intervention (counseling) , peer support , patient education , peer group , health education , family medicine , diabetes mellitus , nursing , public health , psychology , surgery , social psychology , political science , law , cochrane library , endocrinology
Aims and objectives To systematically review published randomised controlled trials of peer education interventions among adults with type 2 diabetes. Background Systematic reviews have shown mixed results for peer support interventions to improve diabetes self‐management. Given the effectiveness of diabetes education by healthcare professionals, peer education interventions may be a useful alternative approach. This review addressed that gap. Design Systematic review. Method A systematic search of published randomised controlled trials between 2006–2016 was conducted using the keywords diabetes , type 2 diabetes , randomised controlled trials , self‐management , peer education and peer support . The methodological quality of each study was assessed using the Jadad scale. Results Seven studies were included in the final review, and the Jadad scores ranged from 8–10 of a possible 13 points. There was no consistent design, setting, or outcome measurement among the studies. There were two types of peer education interventions compared to traditional diabetes education: face‐to‐face or a combination of face‐to‐face and telephone/texting. The most common clinical outcome measure was HbA1c. Two of six studies showed statistically significant improvement in HbA1c between intervention and control groups. An increase in diabetes knowledge was also statistically significant in two of five studies. Conclusion Peer education could be successful in improving clinical outcomes. No evidence was found indicating that healthcare provider education was superior in regard to clinical knowledge or behavioural or psychological outcome measures than peer education. HbA1c was statistically significantly lower in some peer education groups compared to control groups. Relevance to Clinical Practice There is evidence that peer education can be useful in achieving positive clinical outcomes such as decreasing HbA1c levels and increasing diabetes knowledge. A certified diabetes educator or a trained healthcare professional should not be overlooked though when using peer educators.