Telehealth Educational Intervention for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes in Oman

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to find out whether adding a nurse-led telehealth educational program to usual diabetes care can improve blood sugar control, medication-related behaviors, and quality of life in adults with type 2 diabetes in Oman.

The main question this study aims to answer is whether adults who receive the telehealth educational program, in addition to their usual diabetes care, have better blood sugar control after 6 months than adults who receive usual diabetes care alone. Blood sugar control will be assessed using hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), a blood test that reflects average blood sugar levels over the previous few months.

The study will also examine whether the telehealth program improves participants' attitudes and behaviors related to taking their diabetes medicines and their diabetes-related quality of life. Among participants receiving the telehealth intervention, the study will also assess how easy, useful, reliable, and satisfactory they find the telehealth service.

Approximately 160 Omani adults with type 2 diabetes will take part in the study. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will continue usual diabetes care and will also receive an individual telehealth education session once a week for 24 weeks. Each session will last about 20 to 30 minutes and will be provided by a trained nurse using an approved secure telehealth platform. The sessions will cover topics such as diabetes and HbA1c, safe use of medicines, strategies for remembering medicines, healthy eating, physical activity, blood glucose monitoring, recognition of low and high blood sugar, prevention of diabetes complications, stress and sleep, and communication with healthcare professionals.

The other group will continue to receive usual diabetes care without the additional study telehealth education program. No established diabetes care will be withheld from either group, and the telehealth education will not replace routine medical care or authorize the research team to change participants' medications.

Participants will be assessed at the start of the study, at 3 months, and at 6 months. Assessments will include HbA1c testing and questionnaires about medication-related beliefs and behaviors and diabetes-related quality of life. Participants in the telehealth group will also complete a questionnaire about their experience with and satisfaction with telehealth.

Conditions

• Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Telehealth Educational Intervention

Participants assigned to the intervention group will receive usual diabetes care plus one individual synchronous telehealth education session each week for 24 weeks. Sessions will generally last 20-30 minutes and will be delivered in Arabic or English by a trained diabetes nurse educator or research nurse using an SQU/SQUH-approved secure platform. Video will be encouraged when feasible; secure audio may be used if connectivity is insufficient. The first 12 weeks will follow a standardized curriculum covering diabetes and HbA1c, medication use and adherence strategies, healthy eating, physical activity, glucose monitoring, hypo- and hyperglycemia, complication prevention, stress and sleep, communication with healthcare professionals, and maintenance planning. Weeks 13-24 will reinforce content, review goals, address barriers, and revisit topics as needed. Research staff will not initiate, discontinue, or adjust medications; clinical questions will be referred to the treating team.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sultan Qaboos University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Nahla Mansour Al Aali, PhD · College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-11-01

Primary Completion

2027-11-30

Completion

2028-01-30

Countries

• Oman

Study Locations