Successful Health Care Provider Strategies to Overcome Psychological Insulin Resistance in United States and Canada.

Abstract

To identify specific actions and characteristics of health care providers (HCPs) in the United States and Canada that influenced patients with type 2 diabetes who were initially reluctant to begin insulin. Patients from the United States (n = 120) and Canada (n = 74) were recruited via registry, announcements, and physician referrals to complete a 30-minute online survey based on interviews with patients and providers regarding specific HCP actions that contributed to the decision to begin insulin. The most helpful HCP actions were patient-centered approaches to improve patients' understanding of the injection process (ie, "My HCP walked me through the whole process of exactly how to take insulin" [helped moderately or a lot, United States: 79%; Canada: 83%]) and alleviate concerns ("My HCP encouraged me to contact his/her office immediately if I ran into any problems or had questions after starting insulin" [United States: 76%; Canada: 82%]). Actions that were the least helpful included referrals to other sources (ie, "HCP referred patient to a class to help learn more about insulin" [United States: 40%; Canada: 58%]). The study provides valuable insight that HCPs can use to help patients overcome psychological insulin resistance, which is a critical step in the design of effective intervention protocols.