North Texas Research Forum 2025
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Division
North Texas
Hospital
Medical City Fort Worth
Specialty
Family Medicine
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
2025
Keywords
A1C, intermittent fasting, type 2 diabetes, obesity
Disciplines
Endocrine System Diseases | Family Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
Abstract
Background: Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in the UNTHSC Family Medicine clinic varies among residents, with some advocating robust lifestyle counseling and others relying more on medical management. This leads to inconsistencies in patient education and treatment strategies. Lifestyle interventions such as dietary modifications, are unfortunately too often underutilized in the clinic and in primary care in general, despite strong evidence supporting their efficacy in control of both A1C measurements and random fasting blood sugar, and improved prognosis of diabetes. To address this, we have designed and introduced an intermittent fasting (IF) handout as a supplemental standardized educational handout for diabetic patients not on insulin (as fasting while on insulin can be dangerous). This Quality Improvement project's goal is to assess the impact of this strategy IF education on A1C control and evaluate the handout's effect on the utilization of lifestyle modifications in the management plan of the above patients (including those patients managed by residents, attendings, and APPs willing to participate in this endeavor). Methods: A planned retrospective review of 30 randomly selected patient charts with a diagnosis of T2DM (excluding those currently managed with insulin) will be conducted to assess baseline recommendations and treatment strategies - to answer the question: "how often are we recommending lifestyle interventions to patients?" A1C control will also be reviewed. Following this review, participating physicians and APPs will be given the above described IF handout to distribute to eligible patients. The intervention's efficacy will be evaluated by tracking changes in A1C over a designated follow-up period, proposed 6 months. Data will be collected on provider adherence to distributing the handout and any documentation of patient's willingness to adhere to IF as a dietary strategy. Results: Key metrics include the percentage of eligible patients meeting the above criteria who received the IF handout, their adherence to the intervention, and subsequent changes in A1C levels. Further analysis may explore reported barriers to IF recommendations and implementation. Conclusions: With this Quality Improvement project, we hope to standardize dietary education with regard to IF for T2DM patients, and assess the feasibility of this strategy as a lifestyle intervention with out patient population. The results will inform future efforts and projects to improve patient education and compliance, improve glycemic control, and refine our clinic's approach to managing diabetes with non-pharmacologic approaches.
Original Publisher
HCA Healthcare Graduate Medical Education
Recommended Citation
Dalton, Dakota; White, Elizabeth; Hansen, Malinda; and Mir, Tasaduq, "Implementing Intermittent Fasting Education for Improved A1C Control in Type 2 Diabetes Patients" (2025). North Texas Research Forum 2025. 21.
https://scholarlycommons.hcahealthcare.com/northtexas2025/21
Included in
Endocrine System Diseases Commons, Family Medicine Commons, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Commons