Table.
Baseline comparisons for practices, practitioners, and patients
| Variable | Intervention group | Comparison group | Difference | Significance (P value) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practices’ characteristics | ||||
| No of practices | 21 | 20 | ||
| Mean list size | 10 715 | 11 528 | −813 | 0.43* |
| % (No) of practices with list size over 10 000 patients | 52 (11) | 60 (12) | −7.6 | 0.62† |
| % (No) of practices with designated GP and nurse providing diabetes care (throughout year) | 19 (4) | 30 (6) | −10.9 | 0.41† |
| Nurse rating of strength of association (%) between blood glucose and development of complications§: | ||||
| Mean (range) | 83.3 (39.0-100.0) | 86.4 (59.5-100.0) | −3.1 | 0.44‡ |
| No of nurses | 32 | 32 | ||
| GPs’ rating of strength of association (%) between blood glucose and development of complications§: | ||||
| Mean (range) | 73.5 (38.5-100.0) | 79.3 (50.0-100.0) | −5.8 | 0.18‡ |
| No of doctors | 22 | 20 | ||
| Nurse confidence in managing diabetes compared with peers (scale 1-5¶): | ||||
| Mean (range) | 3.72 (1-5) | 3.94 (2-5) | −0.22 | 0.53‡ |
| No of nurses | 32 | 32 | ||
| GPs’ confidence in managing diabetes compared with peers (scale 1-5¶): | ||||
| Mean (range) | 3.77 (2-5) | 4.00 (3-5) | −0.23 | 0.30‡ |
| No of doctors | 22 | 20 | ||
| No of nurses’ training days in diabetes in past 5 years**: | ||||
| Mean (range) | 14.5 (1-70) | 12.0 (0-35) | 2.5 | 0.61‡ |
| No of nurses | 29 | 17 | ||
| No of GPs’ diabetes training days in diabetes in past 5 years**: | ||||
| Mean (range) | 4.03 (0-30) | 3.94 (0-20) | 0.09 | 0.90‡ |
| No of doctors | 19 | 17 | ||
| Patients’ characteristics | ||||
| No of patients | 142 | 108 | ||
| Mean (range) age (years) | 57.9 (30.7-71.0) | 57.4 (33.5-70.6) | 0.5 | 0.66* |
| % (No) of men | 59 (83/142) | 60 (65/108) | −1.7 | 0.78† |
| % (No) in manual social class | 52 (72/139) | 53 (56/106) | −1.0 | 0.87† |
| % (No) employed (v unemployed, retired, housewife) | 35 (50/141) | 38 (41/108) | −5.4 | 0.38† |
| % (No) with partner or spouse (v unmarried, widowed, separated, divorced) | 82 (115/141) | 79 (85/108) | 2.9 | 0.57† |
| % (No) diagnosed by GP | 84 (118/141) | 86 (92/107) | −2.3 | 0.62† |
| % (No) with history of ischaemic heart disease | 12 (17/142) | 17 (18/106) | −5.0 | 0.26† |
| % (No) of current smokers (report to practice nurse) | 22 (31/142) | 21 (22/103) | 0.4 | 0.93† |
| Mean (range) body mass index (kg/m2) | 30.6 (18.7-49.6) | 29.7 (18.9-52.2) | 0.9 | 0.25* |
| Mean (range) weight (kg) | 87.5 (48.4-139.7) | 84.7 (56.0-154.4) | 2.8 | 0.22* |
| Mean (range) blood pressure (mm Hg): | ||||
| Systolic | 144.1 (80.0-190.0) | 141.5 (100.0-200.0) | 2.6 | 0.29* |
| Diastolic | 85.5 (60.0-118.0) | 83.7 (50.0-110.0) | 1.8 | 0.18* |
| % (No) who attended hospital diabetes education groups | 18 (25/141) | 17 (18/108) | 1.0 | 0.83† |
*
t test. †χ2 test. ‡Mann-Whitney U test. §For details of measure, see Marteau et al.13 ¶1=much less confident, 5=much more confident. **Includes study training (1.5 days for nurses, 0.5 day for doctors).