'Coaching' Fails to Improve Diabetes in Disadvantaged Patients

The most significant finding by Frosch et al is that a telephone "coaching" intervention was feasible and well received "by even the most socially and economically disadvantaged" patients, said Ruth Q. Wolever, Ph.D., and Dr. David M. Eisenberg.

A total of 94% of patients viewed the educational DVD; 85% assigned to telephone coaching participated in it, and 73% of them completed all five sessions. This indicates "a desire for diabetes self-management education and a willingness to engage in such interventions. Importantly, these results directly challenge the perception that individuals of lower socioeconomic status may be less motivated to learn self-care strategies," they said.

Dr. Wolever and Dr. Eisenberg are in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. They reported no financial conflicts of interest. These remarks were taken from their invited commentary accompanying Dr. Frosch’s report (Arch. Intern. Med. 2011 Oct. 10 [doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.508]).