Pack Health presented findings at the 2022 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions from November 5 – 7, 2022. The study, entitled “The Impact of Goal Setting in a Digital Health Coaching Program for Participants with Type 2 Diabetes”, was developed to investigate digital health coaching (DHC) as a feasible support intervention for individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Many individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes can experience challenges in managing their condition, which is often presented alongside a common comorbidity – heart disease. In fact, studies have shown the devastating impact of both conditions on managing diabetes, including maintaining blood pressure.1,2 Research has shown that goal setting and digital health coaching have been highlighted as effective interventions in helping individuals with type 2 diabetes to manage the condition and other existing comorbidities, particularly with their ability to positively impact medication adherence.3
To evaluate the feasibility of the DHC intervention, more than 180 participants were provided access to 12 weeks of a personalized health coaching program tailored for individuals with type 2 diabetes with a Health Advisor from Pack Health. The participants and their individual Health Advisors communicated weekly via email, text, or phone and discussed topics related to their condition, including effective goal setting. During these weekly conversations, the participants and the Health Advisors discussed progress made on incremental health-related goals, known as Tiny Steps. All participants chose the goal of improving medication adherence. Participant data was collected at baseline and at 12 weeks, measuring changes in diabetes-related quality of life metrics.
Intervention results showed that the digital health coaching intervention was effective in helping to support participants in their goal of improving their medication adherence. Additionally, there were significant improvements in HbA1c and diabetes-related outcome measures, such as the diabetes distress score.
Jasmine Moore, PharmD, the Manager of Medical Affairs and Research at Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics Company, presented the findings throughout the conference. “Clinicians, allied health and life science professionals come to AHA to learn and discuss ways to push healthcare forward and that’s why we chose the Scientific Sessions to debut this research,” Moore explained. “Our study demonstrated that an intervention such as digital health coaching can help our population manage their condition while trying to mitigate existing comorbidities of cardiovascular disease and obesity.”
View the full poster here. Please visit here to learn more about our research at Pack Health.
References
- Einarson TR, Acs A, Ludwig C, Panton UH. Prevalence of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes: a systematic literature review of scientific evidence from across the world in 2007-2017. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2018 Jun 8;17(1):83. doi: 10.1186/s12933-018-0728-6.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Diabetes and your heart. Updated June 20, 2022. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-and-heart.html
- Martin M, Patterson J, Allison M, O’Connor BB, Patel D. The Influence of Baseline Hemoglobin A1c on Digital Health Coaching Outcomes in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: Real-World Retrospective Cohort Study. JMIR Diabetes. 2021;6(2):e24981. Published 2021 Jun 16. doi:10.2196/24981
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About Pack Health
Pack Health is an evidence-based patient engagement platform that helps change health behaviors to close gaps in care and improve outcomes. Pack Health comprehensively addresses chronic conditions, comorbidities, social determinants, and barriers. The model is proven to drive results across industries, including life sciences, health plans, and research. Pack Health was acquired by Quest Diagnostics in 2020. Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world’s largest database of clinical lab results, Quest’s diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors, and improve health care management. For more information, visit staging.packhealth.com.
