Feasibility of a Complex Behavioral Intervention for Young Adults With Diabetes: The Resilient, Empowered, Active Living-Telehealth (REAL-T) Study

Feasibility of a Complex Behavioral Intervention for Young Adults with Diabetes: The Resilient, Empowered, Active Living-Telehealth (REAL-T) feasibility study will evaluate the feasibility of implementing a diabetes management intervention via telehealth in preparation for a large-scale RCT.

Young adulthood is a challenging life stage for many individuals with diabetes; only 17% of YAs age 18-25 and 30% age 26-30 attain recommended A1C targets, and fewer than 1/3 perform self-care in accordance with national guidelines. Yet, it is a crucial stage for establishing health habits that persist throughout adulthood. To address these issues, our research team developed REAL Diabetes (Resilient, Empowered, Active Living with Diabetes), a 6-month individually tailored occupational therapy intervention focused on incorporating diabetes self-care into participants' daily habits and routines, and evaluated its efficacy in a pilot randomized controlled trial (n=81). REAL was shown in intention-to-treat analysis to significantly improve A1C (0.9% reduction; p=0.01) and diabetes-related quality of life (p=0.04). While REAL was highly promising in terms of its positive impact on health and quality of life, the intervention was delivered through home visits, limiting its potential for broad dissemination. Given that our target population experiences significant logistical barriers to clinic attendance (the impetus for our in-home treatment model), we therefore will adapt REAL to be delivered via telehealth (REAL-T), a highly promising care delivery model, and evaluate REAL-T in a large-scale RCT.

The current feasibility study will evaluate the feasibility of implementing the REAL-T intervention via telehealth by enrolling 10 participants who are 18-30 years of age, conducting the REAL-T intervention with all participants over a 3-month period, and assessing the process of implementing the study (feasibility and participant satisfaction).