# An intervention to enhance hypoglycemia communication and preventive action in primary care

> **NIH NIH K23** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $197,100

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
 To achieve optimal care for the half of U.S. adults with diabetes who are treated with insulin or insulin
secretagogues, it is crucial to prevent hypoglycemia, which causes substantial morbidity and hospital utilization.
However, limited evidence – including our own preliminary analyses – suggests that clinicians do not routinely
assess for hypoglycemia and rarely take preventive actions such as modifying diabetes therapy or providing
anticipatory guidance for hypoglycemia prevention. The Endocrine Society has called for interventions to improve
hypoglycemia prevention in clinical encounters, yet no evidence-based interventions exist.
 In this proposal, we will fill major gaps in understanding hypoglycemia prevention and patient-provider
communication in primary care encounters, and develop a scalable intervention to prevent hypoglycemia that
can be integrated into the primary care workflow. Patient-provider communication is especially important for
hypoglycemia prevention because it requires clinicians to gather detailed history, convey complex information,
and motivate patients to make behavior change. The proposed intervention will build upon effective interventions
that improve chronic disease care by using patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) to routinely assess
patient symptoms and prompt clinicians to take action addressing them. The specific research aims are: Aim 1)
Determine the frequency of hypoglycemia assessment and prevention practices in a national sample of Veterans
Affairs primary care visits, and develop a framework for hypoglycemia communication quality. Aim 2) Develop
an intervention that integrates PROMs for hypoglycemia assessment into the primary care workflow, linked to a
provider toolkit to enhance hypoglycemia communication and prevention practices. Aim 3) To conduct a pilot
study to evaluate the feasibility, fidelity, and acceptability of the hypoglycemia prevention intervention developed
in Aim 2. These aims lay the groundwork for an R01 application to conduct a definitive clinical trial of the
intervention developed here, and address the urgent need for scalable interventions that translate evidence-
based practices for hypoglycemia prevention into the primary care setting.
 Dr. Scott Pilla’s long-term career goal is to become an independent clinician investigator developing and
leading interventional research that improves the health of patients with diabetes and their management in
primary care. He seeks a K23 mentored career development award to obtain critical skills and experience to
lead an independently-funded research program. His career development plan includes didactics and mentored
research experience in qualitative and communication research methods, patient reported outcomes research,
and the conduct and leadership of clinical trials. This training will occur in the rich environment at Johns Hopkins,
including the Division of General Internal Medicine and the Bloomberg Sc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10447033
- **Project number:** 5K23DK128572-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Scott Pilla
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $197,100
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-15 → 2025-05-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10447033

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10447033, An intervention to enhance hypoglycemia communication and preventive action in primary care (5K23DK128572-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10447033. Licensed CC0.

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