Health Care Providers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices and the Association With Referrals to the National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Change Program

Abstract

Purpose To examine how health care providers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices affect their referrals to the National Diabetes Prevention Program. Design Cross-sectional, self-report data from DocStyles—a web-based survey Setting USA Sample Practicing family practitioners, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and internists, n = 1,503. Measures Questions regarding health care providers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices and their referrals to the National Diabetes Prevention Program. Analysis Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to calculate predictive margins and the average marginal effect. Results Overall, 15.2% of health care providers ( n = 1,503) reported making a referral to the National Diabetes Prevention Program. Health care providers were more likely to make referrals if they were familiar with the program (average marginal effect = 36.0%, 95% CI: 29.1%, 42.8%), reported knowledge of its availability (average marginal effect=49.1%, 95% CI: 40.2%, 57.9%), believed it was important to make referrals to the program (average marginal effect = 20.7%, 95% CI: 14.4%, 27.0%), and used electronic health records to manage patients with prediabetes (average marginal effect = 9.1%, 95% CI: 5.4%, 12.7%). Health care providers’ demographic characteristics had little to no association with making referrals. Conclusion Making referrals to the National Diabetes Prevention Program was associated with health care providers’ knowledge of the program and its reported availability, their attitudes, and their use of the electronic health record system to manage patients with prediabetes.