[Interest of a short educational intervention coordinated by community pharmacists for elderly type 2 diabetes patients in a rural area]

The number of elderly people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing worldwide. Community pharmacies, thanks to their proximity, provide more easy access to therapeutic education for rural patients. Populations living in isolated areas require specific educational resources related to their condition. The aim of this project was to perform a short (FLASH) educational intervention, coordinated by community pharmacists, and then evaluate the impact of this intervention on patient knowledge of their disease. The study was performed in Issoudun, a rural French town of approximately 10,000 inhabitants. Educational priorities were defined and the project was presented to health authorities and local health professionals. Pharmacies in Issoudun recruited patients, either alone or accompanied by their caregivers. The educational intervention lasted 2h and focused on 4 teaching objectives: knowledge concerning diabetes, diabetic complications and how to monitor them; how to react to hypoglycemia; understanding treatments; and understanding glycated hemoglobin. The impact of this educational intervention was assessed using a questionnaire delivered before the intervention, immediately after, and after 6months. Forty-five patients aged 71±6years with T2D duration of 14±6years were recruited over 6months. Some false beliefs were identified before the intervention. The educational session led to a significant improvement in the percentage of correct answers (before: 60.3%±7.5, after: 99%±0.4, P=0.0002) and at 6months (99.5%±0.3, P=0.0002) compared with the patients' initial knowledge. Almost all false beliefs were corrected by the intervention and patients were able to recall the mechanism of action of their drugs, with the help of a "key and lock" schematic. This short FLASH educational intervention, coordinated by community pharmacists, showed that the model was both interesting to patients and effective. This method could be expanded to other rural communities and medical deserts.