Promoting Health in Type 2 Diabetes: Nurse-Physician Collaboration in Primary Care

The purpose of this study is to examine effects of a nurse-physician collaborative approach to care of patients with type 2 diabetes and to determine possible effect sizes for use in computing sample sizes for a larger study. Forty patients from a family practice clinic with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to control or experimental groups. The control group received standard care, whereas the experimental group received standard care plus home visits from a nurse, as well as consultation with an exercise special-ist and/or nutritionist. Follow-up continued for 3 months. Clinical end points included standard mea-sures of diabetes activity as well as quality-of-life indi-cators. Focus group interviews were used to explore patients ’ responses to the program. Although finding