Evaluation of structured patient interactions: the Diabetes Check.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate a structured patient intervention, the Diabetes Check, in which pharmacy students ask patients with diabetes about 3 clinical targets: A1c, blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (ABC) levels. Specific objectives were to: (1) describe the effect of patients' reactions on pharmacy students; (2) describe pharmacy students' confidence and role beliefs; and (3) determine predictors of pharmacy students' intention to use the Diabetes Check in the future.


METHODS
After training, pharmacy students were asked to perform 10 diabetes checks and complete an evaluation. Data from the evaluations described pharmacy students' reactions, role beliefs, and confidence. Linear regression was performed to predict intention of using the Diabetes Check in future.


RESULTS
One-hundred twenty-eight pharmacy students used the Diabetes Check tool with over 1000 patients. Most pharmacy students were encouraged by patients' reactions (56%). Pharmacy students' perceptions of patients' reaction and pharmacy students' role beliefs about monitoring ABCs significantly predicted pharmacy students' reported intention to use a Diabetes Check (r-squared = 0.52).


CONCLUSIONS
Pharmacy students' perceptions of patient reactions and role beliefs about the importance of monitoring predicted their reported intention of performing a Diabetes Check in the future.
Guirguis
Lisa M
LM
School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53705, USA. lmguirguis@pharmacy.wisc.edu
Chewning
Betty A
BA
Kieser
Mara A
MA
Kanous
Nathan L
NL
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001794:Blood Pressure; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D013339:Students, Pharmacy
D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin