Successfully Achieving and Maintaining Euglycemia During Pregnancy for Type 2 Diabetes Through Technology and Coaching

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in pregnancy increases the risk of adverse outcomes for both the mother and infant. Over 1 in 3 infants born to individuals with T2D will experience an adverse outcome, including large for gestational age at birth, preterm birth, birth trauma, neonatal hypoglycemia, and stillbirth. Strict maternal glycemic control throughout pregnancy is key to optimizing perinatal outcomes. This is possible with insulin pharmacotherapy, vigilant glucose monitoring, lifestyle modifications including diet and exercise, and team-based prenatal care. Medicaid-enrolled pregnant individuals with T2D experience non-medical social needs that limit their ability to achieve glycemic control, including lack of reliable transportation to attend prenatal visits, access to resources to engage in diet and exercise changes, and convenient methods to log self-monitored glucose values and adjust insulin dosing.

A multi-faceted provider-patient based approach is needed with proven strategies to improve glycemic control. We propose "ACHIEVE: Successfully achieving and maintaining euglycemia during pregnancy for type 2 diabetes through technology and coaching." Our intervention is multi-component, including a mobile health (mHealth) application (app), provider dashboard, DEXCOM continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and care team coaching for medical and social needs. This intervention empowers Medicaid-enrolled pregnant individuals with T2D and their healthcare providers to achieve and maintain glycemic control, improve access to care, and provide patient education and support. Each sub-component of the proposed intervention is grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), and emphasizes on individuals' skills, knowledge and beliefs, and self-efficacy to achieve glycemic control.

We propose four aims: AIM 1: Develop the tailored ACHIEVE mHealth app and provider dashboard for Medicaid-enrolled pregnant individuals with T2D and their healthcare team through active stakeholder engagement; AIM 2: Conduct an RCT and measure the effect of the intervention (mHealth app with CGM, provider dashboard, and care team coaching) compared to current standard care (prenatal visits, self-monitored blood glucose, and certified diabetes care and education specialist) on achieving glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c <6.5% in the third trimester). We hypothesize a 25% absolute increase in the proportion of participants in the intervention group who will meet the target hemoglobin A1c <6.5% in the third trimester compared to the standard care group; and AIM 3: Identify multi-level patient and provider barriers and facilitators to satisfaction, engagement, and use of the intervention and its subcomponents. AIM 4: Examine postpartum (i.e. 6-12 months after delivery) diabetes and reproductive health outcomes in both intervention and standard care arms.

Inclusion criteria

• pregnant individuals age ≥18 years;
• ≤20 weeks of gestation (specifically, <20+6 weeks);
• diagnosis of pregestational T2D and A1c ≥6.5% at the time of study enrollment;
• Medicaid insurance;
• English or Spanish speaking;
• cognitively able to complete the study requirements;
• consent to all study activities;
• accessible for participation in study activities;
• use a smartphone with internet access;

Participants must also consent to the study team abstracting information from their electronic health records (EHRs), using CGM for glucose monitoring if randomized to the intervention group, tracking the participants' clinic, hospital, and emergency room visits during the study period, as well as tracking the number of times the participants use the ACHIEVE mobile health (mHealth) application (app), including what activities are used in the mobile application (e.g., recording blood glucose, scheduling appointments, messaging their healthcare providers, accessing educational resources).