06/15/11

The AMDA Foundation has received a grant to study outcomes in diabetes care in the long-term care setting. Long-time Foundation Research Network member T.S. Dharmarajan, MD, will serve as principal investigator for the study, titled "A Roadmap for the Conversion from Sliding Scale to Basal Insulin in the Long Term Care Setting." 

"The term ‘roadmap’ is being used to describe a unique and branded tool for the foundation in relation to diabetes practice," said AMDA Clinical Affairs Director Jacqueline Vance, RNC, who also is clinical research project coordinator for this study. "This term proposes a plan of action that matches short-term and long-term goals with specific steps, suggesting a research agenda that leads to a final hypothesized outcome."

A committee of diabetes experts will finalize the protocol and develop the tools to be used in the project. These tools will be finalized based on an evaluation of study results. Multiple publications, including a white paper, are expected.

"This proposal seeks to modify both physician and facility-staff behavior by encouraging an analytical proactive approach to improve glycemic control, rather than a reactive approach to each abnormal value," said Ms. Vance. 

"The foundation is very pleased and excited about this important project. It fits in very well with our mission to advance the quality of life for persons in long-term care," said AMDA Foundation Executive Director Lorraine Tarnove. She added, "In a challenging funding environment for research of all kinds, it is rewarding to have this opportunity to study a topic that is so significant to our elder patients and the quality of life they deserve."

Watch AMDA publications and the foundation website (www.amdafoundation.org) for updates.