Older People with Type 2 diabetes - Individualising Management with a Specialised community team: Safety and feasibility study (OPTIMISES)
Researchers: Rajna Ogrin, Elif Ekinci, Ralph Audehm, Sandra Neoh, Tracy Aylen, Leonid Churilov, Cikie Lee, Lorenna Thurgood, Georgia Major, Jeffrey Zajac
Research partners: Austin Health, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University
of Melbourne
Study population: Home and Community Support clients and community members
Funding support: RDNS Charitable Trust, H&L Hecht Trust and supported by an unrestricted grant from Sanofi.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease particularly affecting older adults, requiring complex and challenging treatment due to high levels of comorbidities. Therefore, individualised care is necessary.
The OPTIMISES trial is a collaboration between Bolton Clarke and the Austin Hospital in metropolitan Melbourne. It comprises a multi-faceted approach involving the use of flash glucose monitoring, home visits with a Bolton Clarke credentialed diabetes nurse educator and telehealth consultations with an endocrinologist from Austin Health.
The study aims to evaluate the safety and feasibility of this model of care with 43 participants aged ≥65 years. The impact of the individualised management is also being assessed, in terms of clinical and biomedical markers (including blood glucose patterns and adverse events) and person-centred outcomes (including quality of life, wellbeing and treatment satisfaction). We are also determining the resources needed to undertake the assessments and management.
This study is the first of its kind to explore individualised diabetes management for older people living in the community, with the aim of achieving optimal glycaemic levels. The data drawn from this project may be used to inform policy makers, service providers, clinicians and older adults living with diabetes.
Publications
Ogrin, R., Neoh, S., Aylen, T., Audehm, R., Churilov, L., Thurgood, L., . . . Ekinci, E. (2019). Older People with Type 2 diabetes - Individualising Management wIth a SpecialisEd community team: Safety and feasibility study (OPTIMISES): protocol. JMIR Research Protocols, 8(6), e13986.
Link to video
