Abstract BACKGROUND: Compared with white persons, African Americans have a great
ID: 3219264 • Letter: A
Question
Abstract BACKGROUND: Compared with white persons, African Americans have a greater incidence of diabetes, decreased control, and higher rates ofmicrovascular complications. A peer mentorship model could be a scalable approach to improving control in this population and reducing disparities in diabetic outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether peer mentors or financial incentives are superior to usual care in helping Afrcan American veterans decrease their hemoglobin AC1c (HbA(1c) levels DESIGN: A 6-month randomized, controlled trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration nu NCT01125956) SETTING: Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center PATIENTS: African American veterans aged 50 to 70 years with persistently poor diabetes control. INTERVENTION: 118 patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: usual care, a peer mentoring group, and a financial incentives group. Usual care patients were notified of their starting HbA(1c level and recommended goals for HbA(1c Those in the peer mentoring group were assigned a mentor who fomerly had poor glycemic control but now had good control (HbA(1c) level s7.5%). The mentor was asked to talk with the patient at least once per week. Peer mentors were matched by race, sex, and age. Patients in the financial incentive group could earn $100 by decreasing their HbA(1c) level by 1% and S200 by decreasing it by 2% or to an HbAC1c level of 6.5% MEASUREMENTS: Change in HbA(1c level at 6 months RESULTS: Mentors and mentees talked the most in the first month (mean calls, 4; range, 0 to 30), but calls decreased to a mean of 2 calls (range, 0 to 10 by the sixth month. Levels of HbA(lc decreased from 9.9% to 9.8% in the control group, from 9.8% to 8.7% in the peer mentor group, and from 9.5% to 9.1% in the financial incentive group. Mean change in HbA(lc level from baseline to 6 months relative to control was -1.07% (95% CL -1.84% to -0.31%) in the peer mentor group and -0.45% (CI, -1.23% to 0.32%) in the financial incentive group LIMITATION: The study included only veterans and lasted only 6 months CONCLUSION: Peer mentorship improved glucose control in a cohort ofAfrican American veterans with diabetes PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Institute on Aging Roybal CenterExplanation / Answer
1) A research question is the main defining feature of a research paper. It is the question that the research paper tries to answer. In this context, the research question is:
"Are peer mentors or financial incentives superior to usual care in helping African American veterans decrease their hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) levels? "
2) Basic research is one type of research, which is purely guided by curiosity, and the results developed are not much of a use in the near future. Applied research is another type of research that is driven by and tries to solve real world problems. Such researches are very much useful and applicable in the real world.
The research paper given tries to solve a real world problem as given in the background of the study. Thus, this is an applied research.
3) The unit of analysis is the object, whose properties are being studied. It is the answer of "what" is being studied in the research.
In this paper, the unit of analysis is the hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) levels.
4) The target population is the group of individuals that are being studied.
Here, the target population is the population of African American people.
5) There are various types of research designs. These are: action research designs, cohort design, case study design, causal design, etc.
Here, the data was gathered through observation. The study was conducted over a period of time involving members of a population of African Americans. Using a quantitative framework, a note of statistical occurrence within the target population taken only from Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center was made, rather than studying the statistical occurrence within the general population.
All of these are properties of a cohort design.
Thus, the research given is a cohort design.
6) As pointed out in Design and Intervention sections, the participants were assigned to groups in a randomized manner (that is, randomly).