Improving Diabetes Outcomes: a Couples Intervention

Research has shown that diabetes affects both the patient and family, and that support from family and partners helps diabetes patients manage their illness better. However, diabetes programs rarely involve the partner. This is a study to develop and test an intervention that helps partners and patients who have type 2 diabetes better support each other. The intervention will be delivered over the telephone to reach more people. Our hypothesis is that an intervention that targets the couple has a greater effect on health and well-being of patients than one that targets the individual patient alone.