2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Videophone-based multimodal home telecare support system for patients with diabetes

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23792704
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Community health/Gerontological nurisng
Research Institution	Kyoto University
Principal Investigator	KUBOTA Masakazu 京都大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (80452267)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2012
Keywords	在宅支援
Research Abstract	We conducted an intervention study to clarify how effectively telemedicine system using multi-functional videophone could be used in lifestyle guidance, with a special focus on diet for diabetic patients cared for at home. Patients were assigned to a 3-month intervention group or to a usual care group. In the intervention group, patients and a medical professional communicated bi-directionally through a videophone-based communication system for 30 minutes, once a week. Intra-subjective comparison, the 3-month intervention program resulted in a significant decrease in the Body Weight (BW) (p<0.0005), and the average HbA1C level (p<0.005) compared to before intervention program. In usual care group, the average HbA1C level did not change significantly for six months. This novel bi-directional communication is useful for improving conditions of diabetes, BW, and hyperglycemia of homecare diabetes patients, thus, -reducing cardiovascular risk.