Thirty-Six–Item Short-Form Outcomes Following a Randomized Controlled Trial in Type 2 Diabetes
- Felicia Hill-Briggs, PHD12,
- Tiffany L. Gary, PHD3,
- Kesha Baptiste-Roberts, MPH3 and
- Frederick L. Brancati, MD, MHS13
- 1Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- 2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- 3Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Felicia Hill-Briggs, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 2024 E. Monument St., Suite 2-600, Baltimore, MD 21205. E-mail: fbriggsh{at}jhmi.edu
- CHW, community health worker
- HRQOL, health-related quality of life
- NCM, nurse case manager
- RCT, randomized controlled trial
- SF-36, 36-item short form
The goals of clinical interventions in diabetes are to improve not only medical outcomes but health status and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as well. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form (SF-36) (1) remains the most widely used measure of HRQOL in medical research. We report on change in HRQOL, as assessed using the SF-36, following a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in urban African Americans with type 2 diabetes, a population overrepresented in diabetes prevalence and adverse diabetes outcomes but with relatively little HRQOL research.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Between 1995 and 2000, we conducted a four-arm RCT (2) of the effects of nurse case manager (NCM) and community health worker (CHW) interventions on risk factors for diabetes-related complications in a sample of 186 African Americans with type 2 diabetes in east Baltimore, Maryland. The 2-year trial compared usual care with NCM, CHW, and combined NCM and CHW interventions. The interventions targeted traditional aspects of diabetes care along with socioeconomic factors and home environment. SF-36 was administered at baseline (3) and 2-year follow-up.
RESULTS
One hundred forty-nine persons (84%) completed the 2-year follow-up visit. Pearsons χ2 analyses and two-sample t tests revealed no differences between participants who completed the follow-up and those who did not …
