Adaptation to Telehealth of Personalized Group Visits for Late Stage Diabetic Kidney Disease

Key Points Improving late stage diabetic kidney disease care requires adapting evidence-based, self-management programs for telehealth delivery. We adapted and pilot-tested a telehealth approach and found it to be feasible. Preliminary data suggested it improved relevant health and patient-recorded outcomes. Background The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented shift in the delivery of outpatient medical care, including the rapid transition of services from in-person to telehealth. We adapted an evidence-based personalized health planning group visit care model traditionally offered in-person to telehealth to support the care of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and CKD. Despite the need to leverage telehealth technologies to better support self-management for patients with CKD, scant evidence exists on how to do so. Methods We conducted prospective adaptations of in-person evidence-based group visit model for telehealth delivery for patients with CKD and T2D. Intervention adaptations are reported using the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications–Expanded taxonomy. The adapted virtual group visit care model was pilot-tested among adults with T2D and stage 3b or 4 CKD. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, attendance, satisfaction, and self-reported goal progress. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and included hemoglobin A1c, diastolic and systolic BP, body mass index, and eGFR. Results Adaptation areas included outreach, visit format, educational materials design and access, staffing, and patient engagement strategies. 39% (43) of patients (110) contacted verbalized interest, and 58% (25) of those participated. 72% completed >6 group sessions. 68% of patients reported completing one or more health goals, with nutrition and physical activity being the most common. We observed a statistically significant improvement in hemoglobin A1c ( P = 0.0176) 6 months postprogram participation. Conclusions Adapting evidence-based interventions for telehealth delivery is challenging because of the risk of altering an intervention's core components responsible for observed benefits. We adapted an in-person group visit model for the care of T2D and CKD for telehealth delivery. The telehealth approach was feasible, and preliminary data suggested it improved relevant health and patient-recorded outcomes up to 6 months postprogram completion. The approaches used here may be applicable to the adaptation of other clinical programs for telehealth delivery. Podcast This article contains a podcast at https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/K360/2023_12_29_KID0000000000000301.mp3