Addressing Basic Needs to Improve Diabetes Outcomes in Medicaid Beneficiaries

The Washington University

Status and phase: Active, not recruiting; Phase 2

Conditions: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2

Treatments: Behavioral: Basic needs navigation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT03940209

1R01DK115916-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

HRPO201811020

Details and patient eligibility

About

This pragmatic randomized trial will test the effectiveness of a basic needs navigation intervention compared to usual care among 500 adults (ages 18-75) with Medicaid, type 2 diabetes, and 1 or more unmet basic needs. Basic needs includes having such things as adequate food, housing, personal safety, and money for necessities. The primary study hypothesis is that participants who receive navigation to address unmet basic needs will have a greater reduction (M=0.5%) in HbA1c pre-post compared with participants receiving usual care. Consistent with the study's conceptual model, the effects of unmet basic needs on barriers to self-care (e.g., attention, stress, sleep), health behaviors (e.g., glucose monitoring, diet, clinical screenings) and health outcomes (e.g., emergency department utilization, hospitalization, quality of life) will be examined.

Full description

Type 2 diabetes affects over 29 million US adults, with a disproportionate burden of disease borne by low-income populations. Effective self-management requires attention, planning, follow-through and consistent performance of multiple health behaviors to prevent negative health outcomes. For low-income individuals, though, health improvement is often superseded by the drive to fulfill basic needs such as food, housing, personal safety, and money for necessities. Having unmet basic needs can overwhelm a person's ability to maintain health behaviors. Prior research has demonstrated that with more unmet basic needs, low-income individuals are less likely to even remember or act on a referral for needed health services. However, when unmet needs are resolved and/or people have a personal navigator to help, the likelihood of acting on a health referral significantly increases. Traditionally, patient navigators help coordinate care, manage disease or promote screening and preventive behaviors. This study will expand the role of navigators to include identifying and resolving unmet basic needs, which is expected to facilitate behavior change and improve health outcomes. This approach will be tested in a pragmatic randomized trial conducted in partnership with Louisiana Healthcare Connections, the largest Medicaid managed care plan in Louisiana. This study will test the effectiveness of a basic needs navigation intervention compared to usual care among 500 adults (ages 18-75) with Medicaid, type 2 diabetes, and 1 or more unmet basic needs. The primary hypothesis is that intervention participants will have a greater reduction (M=0.5%) in HbA1c pre-post compared with usual care participants. Consistent with the study's conceptual model, the effects of unmet basic needs on barriers to self-care (e.g., attention, stress, sleep), health behaviors (e.g., glucose monitoring, diet, clinical screenings) and health outcomes (e.g., emergency department utilization, hospitalization, quality of life) will be examined. Louisiana Healthcare Connections will identify eligible members for study recruitment and provide basic needs navigation for 6 months. The research team will recruit, enroll, randomize, and survey study participants by phone at baseline and 3-, 6- and 12-month follow up. HbA1c data will be obtained from electronic medical records to assess change.

Enrollment: 473 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 75 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Medicaid beneficiary
• Member of Louisiana Healthcare Connections
• Age 18-75 years old
• Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
• Had a HbA1c test in the 3-4 months prior to baseline assessment

Exclusion criteria

• HbA1c <7.0 in the 3-4 months prior to baseline assessment
• Enrolled in case management at Louisiana Healthcare Connections in the 3 months prior to baseline assessment
• Are currently pregnant or have only been diagnosed with gestational diabetes at baseline
• Have cognitive or hearing impairments that significantly impede participation in telephone-based survey and intervention protocols.
• Individuals not living independently (e.g., nursing homes, rehab or correctional facilities)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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473 participants in 2 patient groups

Usual care

No Intervention group

Description:

Medicaid beneficiaries in this arm will have all the usual resources available to them through their health plan including access to a physician network, case management resources, and other educational and health-focused resources and activities.

Basic needs navigation

Experimental group

Description:

Medicaid beneficiaries in this arm will have all the usual resources available to them through their health plan (usual care) as well as a navigator for 6 months to address any unmet basic needs, provide instrumental and emotional social support, and improve self-management capabilities.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Basic needs navigation