Canadian Health care Provider Actions That Helped to Make the Decision to Give Insulin a Try—Surveyed Adult Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Experiencing Psychological Insulin Resistance Before Regular Insulin Use, Canada 2017
| Description | Patients with Occurrence (n = 74) | Helpfulness among Those with Occurrence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | Mean (1-4 Scale of Helpfulness*) | % Helped Moderately or a Lot | |
| HCP walked patient through the whole process of exactly how to take insulin | 66 | (89.2) | 3.38 | (83.3) |
| HCP encouraged the patient to contact his/her office immediately if the patient ran into any problems or had questions after starting insulin | 61 | (82.4) | 3.34 | (82.0) |
| HCP helped patient to see how simple it was to inject insulin | 60 | (81.1) | 3.22 | (76.7) |
| HCP showed patient how small the actual needle was | 51 | (68.9) | 3.22 | (82.4) |
| HCP told patient that blood glucose numbers would improve after patient started insulin | 69 | (93.2) | 3.19 | (78.3) |
| HCP took time to answer all the patient’s questions and address his/her concerns about insulin | 69 | (93.2) | 3.19 | (81.2) |
| HCP helped patient to see that an insulin injection was not as painful as patient thought it might be | 54 | (73.0) | 3.19 | (79.6) |
| HCP gave an injection while patient was there in the office | 34 | (45.9) | 3.15 | (73.5) |
| HCP explained that the patient might not have to take insulin forever | 40 | (54.1) | 3.13 | (77.5) |
| HCP told patient that by going on insulin, he/she might soon be able to discontinue other diabetes medications | 52 | (70.3) | 3.12 | (71.2) |
| HCP told patient that starting insulin would help the patient to feel better | 65 | (87.8) | 3.11 | (75.4) |
| HCP showed patient an insulin pen | 62 | (83.8) | 3.10 | (74.2) |
| HCP told patient that starting insulin could help the patient to live a longer and healthier life | 64 | (86.5) | 3.09 | (75.0) |
| HCP explained to the patient that the final decision to try insulin was patient’s, not his/hers | 57 | (77.0) | 3.09 | (77.2) |
| HCP helped patient to understand that taking insulin did not have to be as much of a burden as the patient had feared | 68 | (91.9) | 3.07 | (75.0) |
| HCP had patient try an injection himself/herself while patient was there in the office | 41 | (55.4) | 3.07 | (75.6) |
| HCP reviewed patient's blood sugar numbers with the patient, showing the patient that his/her diabetes was not under control and that action was needed | 70 | (94.6) | 3.07 | (78.6) |
| HCP explained that insulin was a natural substance that the patient's body needed | 67 | (90.5) | 3.04 | (73.1) |
| HCP encouraged patient to try it for a while and see if it might help the patient feel better | 54 | (73.0) | 3.04 | (77.8) |
| HCP warned patient that he/she was likely to develop complications if the patient did not get started soon with insulin to control his/her diabetes | 62 | (83.8) | 3.03 | (71.0) |
| HCP reassured patient that the risk of having a serious problem with hypoglycemia while taking insulin was low | 62 | (83.8) | 2.97 | (72.6) |
| HCP reassured patient that taking insulin was not going to cause complications, like blindness, kidney disease, or a heart attack | 51 | (68.9) | 2.96 | (70.6) |
| HCP and patient talked about the real costs of insulin and insulin supplies and together figured out a way to make it more affordable | 41 | (55.4) | 2.95 | (70.7) |
| HCP took the time to ask the patient about the reasons why the patient did not want to take insulin | 55 | (74.3) | 2.95 | (67.3) |
| HCP helped patient to understand how insulin works in patient's body to lower blood sugars and improve patient's health | 62 | (83.8) | 2.94 | (74.2) |
| HCP reassured patient that taking insulin did not mean that diabetes was now a more serious condition | 61 | (82.4) | 2.92 | (65.6) |
| HCP helped patient get over his/her fears that others would treat the patient differently because he/she were taking insulin | 33 | (44.6) | 2.88 | (75.8) |
| HCP told patient that he/she just needed to trust that the HCP knew best and that getting started on insulin was the patient's best option | 51 | (68.9) | 2.86 | (62.7) |
| HCP warned patient that he/she could not be responsible for what might happen if the patient did not start insulin soon | 29 | (39.2) | 2.86 | (69.0) |
| HCP gave patient leaflets or other reading material about insulin | 48 | (64.9) | 2.83 | (62.5) |
| HCP helped patient to recognize that insulin was more natural than the pills the patient was taking | 50 | (67.6) | 2.82 | (64.0) |
| HCP told patient about all of the positives and negatives of insulin, and explained how the positives outweighed the negatives | 60 | (81.1) | 2.82 | (65.0) |
| HCP reassured the patient that he/she would help the patient avoid or minimize any weight gain because of taking insulin | 39 | (52.7) | 2.79 | (59.0) |
| Repeatedly over many visits, HCP kept trying to convince the patient to get started on insulin | 37 | (50.0) | 2.76 | (59.5) |
| HCP referred patient to a class to help learn more about insulin | 36 | (48.6) | 2.75 | (58.3) |
| HCP helped patient to realize that insulin was not going to cost patient as much money as the patient feared it would | 41 | (55.4) | 2.71 | (58.5) |
| HCP said that the he/she could not continue to treat patient if the patient refused to start insulin | 20 | (27.0) | 2.70 | (70.0) |
| HCP helped patient meet other people who had already been taking insulin for a while | 20 | (27.0) | 2.30 | (50.0) |
HCP, health care provider.
↵* Level of helpfulness was scored on a scale of 1 (it did not help at all) to 4 (it helped a lot). Items that did not occur for patients were considered missing.