Recruitment for TEACH-DM began on June 11, 2009 and concluded July 27, 2011. Administrative PCRC data was obtained for 3581 patients with uncontrolled diabetes from the nine participating community practices. Initial study recruitment letters were sent to 2601 patients. Of this group, 453 patients were ultimately consented for participation, and 377 randomized; 76 patients were excluded after consent and before randomization, mostly due to baseline HbA1c below 7.5%. Of the 377 randomized patients, 193 were allocated into the intervention group and 184 to attention control (Figure 1). Of note, in randomizing 377 patients, we fell approximately 6% short of our anticipated recruitment goal.
The TEACH-DM study arms are well-balanced in terms of gender, race, marital status, education level, and annual income (Table 2). As expected, baseline HbA1c was elevated for both groups. Mean baseline systolic BP was higher than recommended for patients with diabetes, and BP was well-controlled in only 21.5% of the cohort. Mean baseline BMI fell in the obese range. Almost half of patients have a history of tobacco use, but only 10.6% are current smokers. Baseline self-reported non-adherence for diabetes medications was higher than for hypertension medications (43.0% to 29.2%).