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Appointment Length and Health Outcomes for People with Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension

NOMINATED TOPIC | January 31, 2018
Describe your topic.
Would communicating with your primary care provider for longer periods of time during a given visit lead to better prioritizing and self-management behavior for diabetes and hypertension? How does the length of consultation with primary care physicians impact self-management behaviors and clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes and hypertension? Does an increase in appointment length lead to improved clinical outcomes and patient self-management behaviors?
Describe why this topic is important.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 30.3 million Americans had diabetes in 2017. Among adults, age-adjusted diabetes rates are highest among Native Americans/Alaska Natives (15.1%), non-Hispanic blacks (12.7%), and Hispanics (12.1%). Poorly controlled diabetes greatly increases the risk of serious complications, including heart disease and stroke, retinopathy and blindness, kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, and amputations. It was the seventh leading cause of death in 2015. Hypertension affects approximately 75 million American adults, about half of whom have poorly controlled blood pressure, putting them at risk for heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive renal disease. Hypertension rates in the U.S. are highest among non-Hispanic black adults. Essential hypertension/hypertensive renal disease was the 13th leading cause of death in 2014, with an age-adjusted death rate of 8.2 per 100,000. Diabetes and hypertension management includes appropriate diet, exercise, and medications.
Tell us why you are suggesting this topic.
The research topic presented here was created by stakeholder participants in the first demonstration of a PCORI-funded study testing the SEED Method study at Virginia Commonwealth University (go.vcu.edu/SEED). The SEED Method is a new methodology that combines stakeholder engagement with a review of the literature to generate research questions around a health topic. The first demonstration involved patients and service providers in a facilitated process to develop research questions on diet and behavioral management of diabetes and hypertension. We are disseminating the research questions/priorities to relevant organizations and funding institutions in the hopes of increasing interest, research, and funding on these topics.
Describe what you are doing currently and what you are hoping will change because of a new evidence report.
We have circulated the research agendas to other organizations, researchers, funding institutions, and academic journals in the hopes of increasing interest, research, and funding on topics that are of importance to stakeholders. An evidence report would gather available evidence to answer questions that are important to patients, service providers, and other stakeholders and may promote clinical uptake of findings, as well as highlight gaps in the evidence base that may inform and encourage future research efforts in this topic area.
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Provide a description of your role or perspective.
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Page last reviewed March 2018
Page originally created January 2018

Internet Citation: Appointment Length and Health Outcomes for People with Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension. Content last reviewed March 2018. Effective Health Care Program, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/get-involved/nominated-topics/31659

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