Improving the management of diabetes and its eye problems in Nepal

ISRCTN ISRCTN10990062
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10990062
Secondary identifying numbers 2167
Submission date
26/04/2019
Registration date
07/05/2019
Last edited
14/06/2023
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English Summary

Background and study aims
Management of diabetes is emerging as a major public challenge for Nepal. Interventions to improve knowledge/awareness about diabetes and its complications, self-help (attending doctor’s appointments, compliance with treatment), and lifestyles (exercising, avoiding smoking/alcohol consumption) are usually provided to diabetic patients through different methods such as workshops, radio/television interviews, community events, and street marches by professionals involved in diabetes management. However, what is lacking with diabetes management in Nepal is the inclusion of a multidisciplinary (holistic) diabetic intervention tool that is culturally appropriate. Such a multidisciplinary tool would focus on various interventions to improve knowledge/awareness about diabetes, physical activity, diet or meal plan, goal setting and attendance for a diabetic eye check-up. Furthermore, there is a need to monitor diabetic patients closely to ensure that they follow the intervention given at home. In this study, we aim to examine the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate multidisciplinary diabetic intervention video tool in Nepalese diabetic patients, whilst closely monitoring their compliance.

Who can participate?
Those individuals who have been recently told by their doctor that they have got type 2 diabetes.

What does the study involve?
We will recruit 110 participants in total. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups; participants in group 1 will receive training on multidisciplinary diabetic intervention tool. Training will be provided during the first visit and after 6 weeks by a member of a research team. The training will last for about 20 minutes with frequent breaks and time to ask questions if participants do not understand any aspects of their participation. Participants in group 2 will not receive any training on the intervention tool. Data will be collected from each participant at the first visit and after three months. All patients will take their diabetic medicine. We will measure data on blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, height, weight, diet, physical activity, at the baseline and after three months and six months from all the participants. We will also closely monitor participant’s compliance with the intervention given via telephone call.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
We expect that the results of this study will go on to benefit patients with diabetes in the future to better self-manage their condition. We do not expect any concerning risks to participants. Participants’ blood samples will be taken under the direct supervision of a consultant doctor using standard procedures. If participants feel tired during the training they can let us know and they will be provided rest for as long as you need it. If participants do not understand anything or have any kind of confusion, they are free to ask questions throughout their participation.

Where is the study run from?
This study will be conducted at the Department of Medicine, Gandaki Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal.

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
The study starts from 15 May 2019 and is expected to run until December 2021

Who is funding the study?
This research is funded by Global Challenge Research Fund awarded to Vision and Eye Research Unit, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.

Who is the main contact?
Dr Tirthalal Upadhyaya
tirtha77@gmail.com

Contact information

Dr Raju Sapkota
Scientific

YST213, Vision and Eye Research Unit, Anglia Ruskin University
Cambridge
CB1 1PT
United Kingdom

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0002-8234-7037
Phone 08451962642
Email raju.sapkota@anglia.ac.uk
Dr Tirthalal Upadhyaya
Public

Department of Medicine, Gandaki Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Sanchayakosh Bhawan Nayabazar, Prithivichowk
Pokhara
33700
Nepal

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0001-7879-9594
Phone 00977-9851110415
Email tirtha77@gmail.com
Prof Shahina Pardhan
Scientific

YST210, Vision and Eye Research Unit, Anglia Ruskin University
Cambridge
CB1 1PT
United Kingdom

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0003-2377-8387
Phone 08451962257
Email shahina.pardhan@anglia.ac.uk

Study information

Study designSingle-centre randomized double-blinded interventional study.
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typeOther
Participant information sheet No participant information sheet available.
Scientific titleInterventions to control diabetes and improve attendance for retinopathy screening in Kaski, Tanahun and Syangja districts of Nepal: a randomised controlled trial
Study hypothesisPatients who receive multidisciplinary intervention of diabetic management will have their diabetes controlled significantly better than those who receive normal care.
Ethics approval(s)Approved 30/01/2019, Nepal Health Research Council (Ramshah Path, P.O. Box7626, Kathmandu, Nepal; nhrc@nhrc.gov.np; 00977-42542220), ref: 2167.
ConditionType 2 diabetes and diabetic retinopathy
InterventionPatients will be randomly allocated into intervention and non-intervention groups using a lottery method. Patients in the ‘intervention’ group will receive training on the multidisciplinary intervention tool at the start of the study and again after six weeks. The intervention tool contains video message (appropriate to Nepalese culture) on knowledge/ awareness about diabetes and its control, misconception about diabetes, physical exercise, diet, goal setting, diabetic eye complications, and the importance of attending diabetic retinopathy screening. Patients on ‘non-intervention (or normal care)’ group will not receive any intervention and will be examined at the first visit and after three months.

Data on demographics, knowledge/awareness about diabetes, self-help, lifestyle, information on diet, international physical activity questionnaire, HbA1c, BP, BMI, hip-waist ratio, cholesterol, etc. will be collected from both the patient groups at the first visit and after 12 weeks. A research assistant will recruit patients and the data will be collected by the clinician. They will be masked from each other from knowing which data belong to which group of participant.

Baseline and follow up data will be collected on HbA1c, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, demographics, questionnaire on knowledge/awareness about diabetes and its control, self-help, lifestyle, healthy diet, physical activity (International physical activity questionnaire), attendance for diabetic eye screening, goal setting/goals achieved, pedometer recordings, dietary logbook.

Improvement in HbA1c level, blood pressure, cholesterol, knowledge/awareness about diabetes and its control, physical activity, diet, goal setting will be compared between the patient groups at baseline and after three months. There will be an equal number of males and female participants between the study groups, and also that the participants will be of similar age between the groups. Pretesting will be done in 10% of the patients before collecting the data. This will not include study participants.
Intervention typeBehavioural
Primary outcome measure1. HbA1c, blood pressure, cholesterol levels are measured using medical tests and follow up visit for both patient groups.
2. Attendance for diabetic eye check-up is recorded at the follow-up visit.
Secondary outcome measures1. Body mass index (BMI) is measured at baseline and follow up.
2. Knowledge and awareness of diabetes and its control are measured using a questionnaire at baseline and follow-up.
3. Physical activity is measured using pedometers and an international physical activity questionnaire at baseline and follow-up.
4. Dietary habits are measured by using dietary logbook meal planning at baseline and follow up.
5. Support and strategies for healthy goal setting are measured using a questionnaire at baseline and follow up.
Overall study start date01/01/2019
Overall study end date31/12/2021

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupMixed
SexBoth
Target number of participants110
Total final enrolment110
Participant inclusion criteria1. HbA1c levels of ≥7.5
2. Newly diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes
Participant exclusion criteria1. History of having attended diabetic education workshops/seminars.
2. Unable to provide informed written consent.
3. Self-reporting to have significantly impaired memory functions and other conditions that affect the capacity to give consent such as dementia, stroke, Huntingdon’s disease, etc.
4. Sudden, painful loss of vision.
5. From the same family as another patient.
6. Type 1, gestational diabetes.
Recruitment start date01/05/2019
Recruitment end date30/11/2021

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Nepal

Study participating centre

Gandaki Medical College and Teaching Hospital
Sanchayakosh Bhawan Nayabazar
Prithivichowk
Pokhara
33700
Nepal

Sponsor information

Department of Medicine, Gandaki Medical College and Teaching Hospital
Hospital/treatment centre

Sanchayakosh Bhawan Nayabazar, Prithivichowk
Pokhara
33700
Nepal

Phone 977-61-538595
Email principal@gmc.edu.np

Funders

Funder type

Government

Global Challenge Research Fund

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date31/12/2022
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareYes
IPD sharing plan summaryAvailable on request
Publication and dissemination planThe findings will be communicated to the scientific audience, clinicians and the local policy makers through conference presentations, scientific papers, and report writings. The findings will be used to apply for a larger scale study grant to expand on this research.
IPD sharing planThe datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are/will be available upon request by emailing the following members of the research team:
1. Dr Raju Sapkota, email: raju.sapkota@anglia.ac.uk
2. Professor Shahina Pardhan: Shahina.pardhan@anglia.ac.uk
3. Dr Tirthalal Upadhyaya: tirtha77@gmail.com

The data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement form that we will develop.

Type of data: non-identifiable raw data. All participants will be allocated random designation like P1, P2, etc. (partiicpant1, participant2). The data will be available from the time they have been published and up to four years. Data may be shared to the scientific community through journal publications and conference presentations, but participants will always remain anonymous. All participants will provide written consent for taking part in the study prior to data collection.

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article 19/01/2023 14/06/2023 Yes No

Editorial Notes

14/06/2023: Publication reference added.
08/12/2021: The following changes have been made:
1. The target number of participants has been changed from 150 to 110.
2. The total target enrolment number has been changed from 150 to 110.
3. The total final enrolment number has been added.
4. The recruitment end date has been changed from 31/12/2021 to 30/11/2021.
02/12/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 31/12/2020 to 31/12/2021.
2. The overall end date was changed from 31/12/2020 to 31/12/2021.
3. The intention to publish date was changed from 31/12/2021 to 31/12/2022.
03/08/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The overall end date was changed from 31/08/2020 to 31/12/2020.
2. The intention to publish date was changed from 31/01/2021 to 31/12/2021.
3. The recruitment resumed and recruitment end date was changed from 31/07/2020 to 31/12/2020.
4. The plain English summary was updated to reflect these changes.
09/04/2020: Due to current public health guidance, recruitment for this study has been paused.
13/02/2020: The overall end date was changed from 31/01/2020 to 31/08/2020.
12/02/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 31/12/2019 to 31/07/2020.
2. The target number of participants was changed from 110 to 150.
3. The total final enrolment of 110 was removed due to the extension of data collection.
10/01/2020: The total final enrolment was added.
03/05/2019: Trial's existence confirmed by the Nepal Health Research Council.