Cost Savings and Clinical Effectiveness of an Extension Service Diabetes Program

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the cost savings and clinical effectiveness of a Cooperative Extension Service diabetes education program for improving nutrition knowledge, food portioning skills, hemoglobin A 1c (A1C), and anthropometric indices.Design. Clients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes enrolled in a 3-month diabetes education course focused on food portioning skills. Pre-and postcourse anthropometric measurements, a written food portion test, an observational food portioning skill test, and an A1C test were administered and scored. Paired t tests were calculated between pre-and postcourse scores to measure statistical significance.Results. Data analysis showed improvement in food portion knowledge written test scores (49.67% preand 59.56% post-course, P = 0.004), food portioning skills (out of a possible score of 5, 2.43 pre-, 4.29 post-course, P = 0.023), A1C results (7.16% pre-, 6.43% post-course, P = 0.000), body mass index (BMI) (32.60 kg/m 2 pre-, 31.78 kg/m 2 post-course, P = 0.000), weight (202.58 lb pre-, 199.74 lb postcourse, P = 0.000), waist circumference (42.43 inches pre-, 41.16 inches post-course, P = 0.000), hip circumference (45.96 inches pre-, 45.36 inches post-course, P = 0.000), and waist-tohip ratio (0.92 pre-, 0.91 post-course, P = 0.000). Conclusions/Applications. Evaluation of the Utah State University ExtensionService diabetes education program showed improved nutrition knowledge, anthropometric measures, and glucose control. These improvements have been estimated to reduce medical costs by $94,010.

Diabetes self-management education improves quality of care and clinical outcomes determined by a diabetes bundle measure

“…The findings of this study clearly support previous studies on improvement of HbA 1c levels with diabetes education beyond standard treatment alone, yet, also contribute to the limited body of knowledge surrounding methods to improve upon bundle achievement. 11 , 25 , 26 The same literature also supports the cost benefit of DSME. An economic analysis conducted in 2000 by Klonoff and Schwartz reported that for every US $1 spent on DSME, there was a net saving of $0.44 to $8.76.…”

Costs and Benefits Associated With Diabetes Education A Review of the Literature

“…13 Studies involved patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), 18,22,23,27 type 1 diabetes, 13 type 2 diabetes, 30,32,34 or both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. 10,12,14,[24][25][26]28,29,31,35 Several studies did not specify the type of diabetes. 11,[15][16][17][19][20][21]33 Study designs included meta-analysis, 26 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 13,16,18,[22][23][24]27,34 prospective quasiexperimental pre-post studies, [10][11][12]14,15,20,25,29 and retrospective database analyses.…”

“…10,12,14,[24][25][26]28,29,31,35 Several studies did not specify the type of diabetes. 11,[15][16][17][19][20][21]33 Study designs included meta-analysis, 26 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 13,16,18,[22][23][24]27,34 prospective quasiexperimental pre-post studies, [10][11][12]14,15,20,25,29 and retrospective database analyses. 17,19,21,28,30,[31][32][33]35 The studies conducted cost analyses, 13,19,22,28,29,32 cost-effectiveness analyses, [10]...…”

Food Practices and Preferences in Youth With Diabetes

“…Regularly using the skill of accurate food portioning has been shown to be cost-effective in managing diabetes. 11 The community diabetes program, 11 which emphasized food portioning skills, label reading, and cooking skills, showed a significant decrease in hemoglobin A 1c and a significant cost savings in hospital charges according to the scale set by Gilmer et al 12 In addition to accurate portioning skills, it is also important to consider convenience and family influences on dietary, caloric, and carbohydrate intake. The results of this study were similar to one assessing the nutrient Feature Article/Christensen et al…”