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Dec. 13 — Faculty and alumni team pen article exploring research methods
Heather M. Young, a professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis, published an article in the journal Research in Gerontological Nursing with the research team that led a study of a nurse-led, technology-enabled intervention for people managing diabetes. The study looked at the effectiveness of nurse coaching combined with wearable devices for the individuals with diabetes to track their physical activity and other healthy behaviors. One component of the study compared the people who got the intervention with people who got “usual care” in primary care clinics to see if the intervention added a benefit. The researchers discovered the comparison was complicated because usual care is variable. A person with diabetes may get very different care from different clinicians; they may be referred to different resources; they may take advantage of different classes, all of which can affect the outcomes. The article, “Defining Usual Care in Clinical Trials,” discussed how to establish an understanding of usual care and the implications for further research. The research team included School of Nursing doctoral alumnae Sheridan Miyamoto and Deborah Greenwood, School of Medicine Associate Professor Madan Dharmar and retired research analyst Yajarayma Tang-Feldman.

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