The minDBe pilot study: access to a newly adapted diabetes specific multimodal cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary psychotherapeutic care offer for a high-risk group of patients with diabetes mellitus and distress

• Applicant: Dr. Hanna Kampling
• Subject Area: Public Health, Healthcare Research, Social and Occupational Medicine ; Endocrinology, Diabetology, Metabolism ; Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533783829

Diabetes mellitus is a common disease with increasing prevalences. To prevent diabetes-related complications, diabetes self-management is of utmost importance. Psychosocial aspects of diabetes care gained much attention given that many patients with diabetes also show psychological and diabetes-related distress. They mark a high-risk group of patients, as distress is associated with problematic self-care, poor glycemic control, a decreased quality of life, an increased risk for complications and mortality as well as higher health care costs. From a psychosocial perspective, these patients are in particular need of care offers addressing both somatic parameters such as an adequate glycemic control (HbA1c <7.5%) as well as psychological and diabetes-related distress and associated impaired diabetes self-management. Recent research showed that these therapy aims could not be accomplished by focusing solely on somatic (e.g. by a diabetologist) or psychological (e.g. by a psychotherapist) treatments. Rather, integrative treatment offers with access to structured interdisciplinary care concepts that are part of primary care have internationally shown to be effective in the treatment of patients with diabetes. In Germany, such offers are hardly available in standard care. With the newly implemented Psychosomatic Outpatient Clinics (PsIA) such complex treatment offers integrating somatic and psychosocial aspects can be implemented. For the high-risk group of patients with diabetes, poor glycemic control as well as psychological and diabetes-related distress, the minDBe pilot study has two aims: I) The minDBe pilot study aims to develop Ia) referral pathways to the PsIA and Ib) short questionnaires to economically assess the feasibility of these referral pathways by qualitatively examining patients’ and providers’ needs – specifically acceptance, feasibility, barriers and facilitators – regarding the implementation of a diabetes specific care offer within the PsIA as well as the referral to the PsIA. II) In order to allow for the integration of psy-PAD-group in the structures of the PsIA as part of an interdisciplinary multimodal care offer, the minDBe pilot study aims to adapt and further develop the already tested and manualized psy-PAD short-term intervention for a group setting by conducting an expert-workshop. Based on the MRC-Framework minDBe is designed as a phase I pilot study to be conducted in two work packages comprising explorative qualitative research (focus groups and interviews) based on a multilevel approach (patients and providers) as well as an expert-workshop.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Johannes Kruse