Website maintenance is planned from 8:00 a.m. CDT Saturday, July 27, through 9:00 p.m. CDT Sunday, July 28. Brief disruptions may occur during this time.
CGM: A Powerful Tool for Behavior Change in Diabetes
Information provided by Dexcom
Successful diabetes management requires both quality clinical care and effective self-management to achieve optimal health outcomes.1 Family medicine clinicians play a crucial role in motivating patients to be active players in their own diabetes management.2 Diabetes management is complex. Getting to the heart of sustained behavior change should be addressed with compassionate and evidence-based clinical care that provides the best tools to patients.
Real-time continuous glucose monitoring (RT-CGM) has been proven to increase time in range (TIR),3 reduce hypoglycemia,4 and improve AIC.3,5 Recently, research highlights that RT-CGM can also be a highly effective tool for promoting and sustaining behavior change for people with type 2 diabetes.6
Consider the following research-backed advantages that RT-CGM offers in helping facilitate behavior change and self-efficacy with patients6-8:
- Attitude changes: CGM devices provide continuous, real-time feedback. They also highlight how different foods, activities, and medications affect glucose. Seeing and understanding what is happening with glucose levels makes the invisible visible, which highlights the technology’s potential to bring about meaningful attitude changes.
- Motivation through data and enhanced awareness: The continuous link between behaviors and glucose levels can prompt proactive changes in physical activity, nutrition, and medication-taking behaviors. Positive changes in glucose levels following a behavior change can reinforce the patient’s motivation and sense of perceived control.
- Data-driven decision-making: CGM offers the ability to share data that can be reviewed with the healthcare team. This helps drive shared decision-making and optimization that are personalized to a person with diabetes and their self-care behaviors.
In the Real-Time Real Talk podcast, behavioral health scientist Maggie Crawford, PhD, MPH, discusses her recent research on how CGM use influenced individuals’ perceived control over their diabetes.
To learn more about RT-CGM and behavior change, listen to the podcast.
REFERENCES
- Swanson V, Maltinsky W. Motivational and behaviour change approaches for improving diabetes management. Pract Diab. 2019;36:121-125.
- Bartol T. Improving the treatment experience for patients with type 2 diabetes: role of the nurse practitioner. J Am Acad Nurse Pract. 2012;24 Suppl 1:270-276.
- Beck RW, Riddlesworth T, Ruedy K, et al. Effect of continuous glucose monitoring on glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes using insulin injections: the DIAMOND randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2017;317(4):371-378.
- Heinemann L, Freckmann G, Ehrmann D, et al. Real-time continuous glucose monitoring in adults with type 1 diabetes and impaired hypoglycaemia awareness or severe hypoglycaemia treated with multiple daily insulin injections (HypoDE): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2018;391(10128):1367-1377.
- Šoupal J, Petruželková L, Grunberger G, et al. Glycemic outcomes in adults with T1D are impacted more by continuous glucose monitoring than by insulin delivery method: 3 years of follow-up from the COMISAIR Study. Diabetes Care. 2020;43(1):37-43.
- Clark T, Polonsky WH, Soriano EC. The potential impact of continuous glucose monitoring use on diabetes-related attitudes and behaviors in adults with type 2 diabetes: a qualitative investigation of the patient experience. Diabetes Technol Ther. Published online May 13, 2024.
- Ehrhardt N, Al Zaghal E. Continuous glucose monitoring as a behavior modification tool. Clin Diabetes. 2020;38(2):126-131.
- Crawford MA, Hicks C, Genge P, et al. 677-P: Exploring the impact of CGM on perceived control of non-intensive insulin treated type 2 diabetes. Diabetes. 2023;72 (Supplement_1):677-P.
Disclaimer
The posting of sponsored information and content on this page should not be considered an AAFP endorsement or recommendation of the sponsor's products, services, policies, or procedures. The information and opinions expressed on this page are those of the paid sponsors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the AAFP. The AAFP is not responsible for the content of third-party websites linked from this page; moreover, any links on this page to third-party websites where goods or services are advertised are not endorsements or recommendations by the AAFP of the third-party sites, goods, or services.