Implications for practice and research
GDM, diabetes
GDM, IMPAIRED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE, DIABETES
We urge general practice clinics to continue to strengthen attempts to engage in the decision-making process with women and support knowledge transfer between healthcare sectors. Such challenges appear to have diminished the effect of the reminder, creating a barrier to follow-up screening. Even if the reminder were routinely despatched, women should be offered support for their decision-making, especially if their GDM pregnancy occurred several years earlier. Nevertheless, routine use of reminders should be considered, in order to strengthen women's opportunity to be tested and, in dialogue with general practitioners, gain information on how diabetes conversion can be prevented. It is especially important in a Danish setting where evidence-based lifestyle interventions are not systematically available to women with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Our work has implications for all research concerning the coverage of reminder interventions. An adjunct process evaluation to our study, which is currently being analysed, can help generate more knowledge about women's experiences of receiving the reminder and participating in screening. Also, no previous cost-effectiveness studies on the use of reminder systems to increase uptake in screening after birth for this specific group of women have been identified. Finally, should potentials of yearly reminders and more knowledge about the specific subgroups be analysed.