Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

Scott McDoniel

Abstract

August 2016

Management of metabolic syndrome (MetS) may be enhanced by promoting patient engagement. Training health care providers in the conceptual and practical application of integrative patient centered care tools may promote patient lifestyle behaviors for better management of MetS. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to assess the impact of training providers in integrative patient centered care for patients with MetS. The biopsychosocial construct provided the conceptual framework for the study. Two groups of physicians were included; one received training in an integrative model (IM) while the second received no training and provided usual care (UC). Following training, patient disease biometrics and medication adherence were monitored for approximately four months. Due to a diminished sample size in the completer data set, an intention to treat (ITT) data set was created with baseline values brought forward. In the ITT set, BMI decreased significantly (p=0.005, d=0.18) with each group over time: (IM: 32.9 -± 7.3 Kg/m2 to 31.6 -± 6.8 Kg/m2) and (UC: 32.1 -± 6.7 to 31.5 -± 6.3 Kg/m2). However, there were no statistically significant differences between these two groups' measures. In the completer set, BMI decreased significantly (p < 0.05, d=0.18) over time with the IM group, but not the UC group: (IM: 35.14 -± 7.9 Kg/m2 to 33.65* -± 7.62 Kg/m2) and (UC: 32.4 -± 6.62 Kg/m2 and (32.4 -± 6.5 Kg/m2); indicating a possible relationship between the intervention training (IM) and improved health outcomes. Thus, providers are assisting patients with important lifestyle choices to better manage MetS, potentially leading to social change around improved patient health care behaviors and advancement in providers' patient centered practices.

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