Diabetes Education Impact on Hypoglycemia Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Evidence and Gaps in the Literature

Purpose The primary purpose of this study is to report a systematic review of evidence and gaps in the literature among well-conducted studies assessing the impact of diabetes education on hypoglycemia outcomes and secondarily reporting the impact on other included target outcomes. Methods The authors used a modified Cochrane method to systematically search and review English-language titles, abstracts, and full-text articles published in the United States between January 2001 and December 2017, with diabetes education specified as an intervention and a directly measurable outcome for hypoglycemia risk or events included. Results Fourteen quasi-experimental, experimental, and case-control studies met the inclusion criteria, with 8 articles reporting a positive impact of diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) on hypoglycemia outcomes; 2 of the 8 reported decreased hypoglycemia events, and 1 reported decreased events in both the intervention and control groups. In addition, 5 studies targeted change in reported hypoglycemia symptoms, with all 5 reporting a significant decrease. DSMES also demonstrated an impact on intermediate (knowledge gain, behavior change) and long-term (humanistic and economic/utilization) outcomes. An absence of common hypoglycemia measures and terminology and suboptimal descriptions of DSMES programs for content, delivery, duration, practitioner types, and participants were identified as gaps in the literature. Conclusions Most retained studies reported that diabetes education positively affected varied measures of hypoglycemia outcomes (number of events, reported symptoms) as well as other targeted outcomes. Diabetes education is an important intervention for reducing hypoglycemia events and/or symptoms and should be included as a component of future hypoglycemia risk mitigation studies.