What is important for people with type 2 diabetes? A focus group study to identify relevant aspects for Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in diabetes care

Background: Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) aim to evaluate the quality of care based on the perspectives of patients rather than clinical indicators. Qualitative research is needed to identify these perspectives in people with type 2 diabetes. Objective: To identify, for the first time in Israel, aspects valuable for people with type 2 diabetes that can be relevant for PROMs in diabetes care. Methods: A qualitative study included three focus groups totalling 19 people with type 2 diabetes. Inclusion criteria were: (1)type 2 diabetes, (2)diabetes duration of at least six months, and (3)adults aged 45–80 years. Purposive sampling enabled recruitment of heterogeneous participants. Also, two experts’ panels with healthcare providers involved in diabetes care (n = 23) were conducted to provide triangulation of information (more testimony about what is valuable for people with type 2 diabetes). Discussions were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Results: Four domains were deemed valuable for people with type 2 diabetes: (1)challenges of living with diabetes, including reduced physical function, healthy lifestyle struggles, sexual dysfunction, and financial burden, (2)mental health issues, including depression, distress, anxiety, frustration, and loneliness, (3)self-management ability, including management of lifestyle modifications and treatment, knowledge about the disease and treatment, and (4)patient-clinician relationships, including the devotion of clinicians, trust in clinicians and treatment, shared decision-making, and multidisciplinary care under one roof. Experts favour using PROMs in diabetes routine care and even acknowledged their necessity to improve the treatment process. However, only some of the domains raised by people with type 2 diabetes were identified by the experts. Conclusions: There are content gaps between perspectives of people with type 2 diabetes and their healthcare providers. PROMs are essential in addressing issues largely not addressed in routine diabetes care. We recommend that researchers and healthcare providers, who intend to utilize PROMs for diabetes care, consider the aforementioned domains.