“ What D id Y ou Say?” Diabetes Patient and Spouse Question Asking

1. “ What Did You Say?” DiabetesPatient and Spouse Question Asking Emily Muller1, Amber J. Seidel1, Melissa M. Franks2, and Cleveland Shields2 1Penn State York, 2Purdue University Abstract Methods & Materials Discussion This research outlines the importance of question asking for both patients and spouses during medical appointments for better diabetes management despite patients asking significantly more questions than spouses. • Spouses of diabetes patients attended a routine medical visit with the patient and the visit was audio-recorded. • To identify and analyze questions, we adapted the Karmanos Information Seeking Analysis System (K-ISAS)(Eggly et al., 2011) to be used within the diabetes context. Each question was coded into predefined categories outlined in the K-ISAS • By using a dyadic model both patients and spouses have been shown to solicit additional information from physicians that may aid in disease management or spouses involvement • These findings suggest that practical aspects of disease management are of the utmost importance. • Also, the frequency of social interaction questions demonstrate the importance of building rapport with the patient’s doctor. Background • Patient’s active involvement in appointments leads to better management • Spouses have an impact on shared lifestyle habits • The purpose of this research is to explore the topics and frequency of questions asked by both spouses and patients in a routine medical visit. Results Conclusion Our results indicated that patients ask more questions than spouses. Most of the questions asked by both patients and spouses were related to diabetes treatments such as medication, monitoring, symptoms and complications, and lifestyle changes. Hypothesis References • It is anticipated that patients will ask more questions than spouses. • It also anticipated that most of the questions during the appointment will be related to tracking current diabetes treatments Eggly, S., Harper, F. W. K., Penner, L. A., Gleason, M. J., Foster, T., & Albrecht, T. L. (2011). Variation in question asking during cancer clinical interactions: A potential source of disparities in access to information. Patient Education and Counseling, 82(1), 63–68. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2010.04.008 Acknowledgements Participants This research was supported by the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, Purdue Research Foundation, and Purdue Agricultural Research Programs. To be eligible for this study, one partner had to have type 2 diabetes, be over 50 years of age, be married and living with their spouse who does not have diabetes (n=58). • Patients asked significantly more questions than spouses; 24% spouses (n = 253) and 76% patients (n = 801) total (n=1024). • The five most frequently asked topics were medication, monitoring, symptoms & complications, lifestyle, and social interactions.