Modified Delphi Process to Identify Research Priorities and Measures for Adult Lifestyle Programs to Address Type 2 Diabetes and Other Cardiometabolic Risk Conditions.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical and community guidelines recommend lifestyle (i.e. diet and physical activity) interventions for cardiometabolic conditions (including type 2 diabetes), yet current evidence suggests limited and variable services in primary care and public health settings. New implementation research studies are needed to ensure maximal effectiveness, equity and efficiency across all population subgroups and within the context of health systems. Such work will benefit from use of similar core measures and outcome indicators across studies. This Delphi process was undertaken by a new interdisciplinary volunteer researcher network to identify research priorities and core measures for such studies. METHODS: Interested network members completed 2 rounds of a modified Delphi process delivered through online questionnaire and teleconferences. Consensus was defined as the median and interquartile range within the top third of a 9-point scale. RESULTS: Twenty-five of 53 (47%) members and 18 (34%) participants completed the round 1 and round 2 surveys, respectively. Of 22 possible research priorities, 4 were rated high priority with consensus, including evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions in place, improving existing interventions for sustainability and clinical and public health research to advance existing knowledge to develop new capacities. Only 15 of the 93 measures and indicators proposed achieved similar consensus. CONCLUSIONS: This first effort confirms broad agreement on research priorities and limited agreement on core indicators/measures. The results provide a starting point for further development of common measures for implementation research in lifestyle studies addressing cardiometabolic conditions.