Evaluation of a 5-day education programme in type 1 diabetes: achieving individual targets with a patient-centred approach.

Aims: To evaluate if a single inpatient education training programme can achieve individualized therapeutic targets.

Methods: Patients with Type 1 diabetes participating in a flexible intensive therapy programme were consecutively included in a prospective monocentric study. They all participated in the same education programme which had a patient-centred approach. Before the intervention, patients were divided into three groups according to their main therapeutic target: Group 1, to decrease HbA1c concentration in patients with baseline HbA1c ≥ 58 mmol/mol (7.5%); Group 2, to improve quality of life and satisfaction with treatment in patients with baseline HbA1c < 58 mmol/mol (7.5%); and Group 3, to decrease the frequency of hypoglycaemic episodes in patients with severe or frequent hypoglycaemic episodes. Therapeutic targets were evaluated at 12 months. Quality of life and treatment satisfaction were evaluated with validated questionnaires completed at baseline and 6 months.

Results: In Group 1 (n = 74), the mean ± sd HbA1c concentration decreased from 75 ± 15 mmol/mol (9.0 ±1.4%) to 68 ±15 mmol/mol (8.4 ± 1.4%; P < 0.001), with 53% of patients experiencing a decrease in HbA1c concentration of at least 6 mmol/mol (0.5%), without weight gain or more frequent hypoglycaemia. In Group 2 (n = 12), patient satisfaction with treatment improved significantly (P < 0.0001). In Group 3 (n = 35), minor hypoglycaemia significantly decreased from a mean ± sd of 6.6 ± 4.7 to 3.2 ± 3.0 hypoglycaemic episodes/week (P < 0.001) and the incidence of severe hypoglycaemia dropped significantly from a mean ± sd of 2.31 ± 3.07 to 0.86 ± 2.46 episodes/patient/year (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Many patients with different needs, who attended the same flexible intensive therapy education programme, which had a patient-centred approach, were able to achieve their individual therapeutic targets.