Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyles for Diabetes (HEAL-D) Online: a mixed methods evaluation exploring the feasibility of implementing a virtual culturally tailored diabetes self-management programme for African and Caribbean communities

Abstract

Objectives To assess the feasibility and acceptability of delivering Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyles for Diabetes (HEAL-D) Online.Intervention HEAL-D Online—a 7-week culturally tailored type 2 diabetes educational programme delivered using online platform.Setting Programme delivered by a London NHS trust, with patients referred from primary care healthcare professionals via a central booking system.Participants 53 HEAL-D service users completed a postcourse questionnaire, and 14 service users and 7 service delivery staff participated in interviews.Design Mixed methods service evaluation.Primary and secondary outcomes Service user engagement, acceptability and perceived patient benefit assessed using service activity data. Feasibility and acceptability of HEAL-D Online, using semi-structured interviews to explore the views and experiences of service users and service delivery staff.Results Service activity data showed that initial uptake of HEAL-D Online was good (62% attendance) with a high adherence to the programme (77% completion). A high fidelity (94%) was observed, and qualitative findings showed that staff and service users were satisfied with all aspects of course delivery. Both service activity and qualitative data indicated that attendees felt more confident in controlling their diet and managing their diabetes post-HEAL-D Online.Conclusion This evaluation demonstrates the feasibility of delivering HEAL-D using an online platform, with its ability to achieve similar goals compared with its face-to-face counterpart. Challenges were identified around the identification, recruitment and referral of eligible patients into the programme, which need to be addressed for successful implementation on a wider scale.