Point-of-care HbA1c
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Introducing HbA1c point-of-care testing into primary care
IRAS ID
159982
Contact name
Jennifer Hirst
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
There are more than 6 million people in the UK living with diabetes, which costs the NHS over £13 billion annually. As the number of people with diabetes increases it is important to help people control their diabetes to avoid future health complications and minimise costs.
HbA1c is usually measured every 3 to 6 months in people with type 2 diabetes to monitor their blood glucose control over the past 2-3 months. Most people travel to the doctors to give a blood sample and then they either return to get their test result or they receive their result over the telephone. This is inconvenient and there isn’t always a chance to speak to a doctor or nurse about their result.
Point-of-care devices can measure HbA1c from a fingerstick blood sample. These devices give an HbA1c result in about 5 minutes which means that the result will be ready in the same doctor’s appointment. This type of test can help people to understand their HbA1c result and talk about the treatment options with their doctor. This may motivate people to take their diabetes medicine or change their lifestyle to control and improve their diabetes. This research will help us understand how people feel about point-of-care testing and help doctors to decide whether they should offer it to their patients.
We plan to put HbA1c point-of-care devices into 3 GP surgeries located in the Thames Valley. Thirty people with uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c > 7.5% or 59 mmol/mol) will be invited to participate in the study for 6 months. Participants will complete some questionnaires on their first and final visit on their diabetes and treatment and have their HbA1c measured by a point-of-care device twice. We will interview up to 15 participants before and after using the point-of-care tests to understand their experience of point-of-care testing.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
14/NI/1127
Date of REC Opinion
1 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion