# Implementation and Testing of a Diabetes Discharge Intervention to Improve Safety During Transitions of Care

> **NIH AHRQ R18** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $500,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
A substantial number of patients develop type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) during their lifetime and need diabetes
medications. However, poor glycemic control (hypo (low) - and hyper- (high) glycemia or blood sugar) from
unsafe medication use is known to contribute to both complications and mortality. Therefore, assuring DM
patients' ability to appropriately manage glycemic control after high risk times, such as hospital discharge, is
critical. In a prior study, we identified high risk failures in the discharge process of patients with DM, including
variability in comprehension and standardization of diabetes education. To address these failures, we
developed a Diabetes Discharge Toolkit, a hands-on teaching kit for patients and providers with an integrated
website and app for both inpatient and outpatient use, utilizing a user-centered design approach. The goal of
this proposal is to integrate and implement the Diabetes Discharge Toolkit to improve the quality and safety of
the transition of DM care from hospital to home for patients newly prescribed insulin. We will then assess the
adequacy of implementation to ensure appropriate fidelity of the proposed intervention in this transitional care
setting. Following, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial of the intervention to test the efficacy of the
Toolkit and to assess its impact on reducing hyper- and hypoglycemia, following hospital discharge. We then
propose to disseminate our findings for future use of the Toolkit throughout our institution and at the local level
through a local collaboration with our diabetes association. There is a clear need for improvement in DM
transitions of care, and improvement in the safe use of DM medications, given that they are a high risk
population. This intervention has the potential to be generalized to DM care in other care settings (e.g.,
emergency department, outpatient clinic) for DM patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9895587
- **Project number:** 5R18HS026143-02
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Amisha Wallia
- **Activity code:** R18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $500,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9895587

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9895587, Implementation and Testing of a Diabetes Discharge Intervention to Improve Safety During Transitions of Care (5R18HS026143-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9895587. Licensed CC0.

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