Table 1 Included intervention and observational studies for postpartum follow-up after gestational diabetes. (N = 6)

Chittleborough et al. (2010) Australia

Intervention using letter

Secondary

The Diabetes Center at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Intervention target group: Patient and physicians

429 Postpartum women and their GPs in the GDM Recall Register receiving reminders for postpartum OGTT testing

Outcomes

1. Rate of returned update forms that was included in the reminder letter

2. The range of women reporting they had attended an OGTT test the previous year

Two times reminder letter to both patients and GPs.

First time 15 months after delivery

Second time every 12 months thereafter

Of the 429 women receiving a reminder letter 46 % returned an update form and 56 % had an OGTT in the previous 12 months

Second reminder letter resulted in 45 % return of which 75 % had OGTT the previous 12 months

Clark et al. (2009) Canada

Intervention using letters

Secondary

Ottawa Hospital, Ontario

Intervention target group: Patient and physicians

256 Patients and their physicians assigned randomly to 4 groups according to reminder intervention

Outcomes

1. Percentage of women who underwent OGTT

2. Performance of postpartum screening test

Patients assigned randomly to 4 groups:

1. Reminders both to physicians and patient

2. Reminders to patients only

3. Reminders to physician only

4 No reminders sent

OGTT rates

1. Both patient and physician reminders: 60.5 %

2. Patient only: 55.3 %

Physician only: 51.6 %

No reminders: 14.3 %

Korpo-Hyövälti et al. (2012) Finland

Intervention using telephone calls

Primary

South Ostrobothnia, Finland

Intervention target group: Patient and physicians

Counselling during pregnancy and lifestyle intervention for GDM patients. From this population a postpartum intervention was carried out among 266 high-risk-for-GDM women and their physicians in four municipalities

Outcome: the prevalence of high-risk-for-GDM women who underwent an OGTT in the postpartum period

Postpartum intervention was offered to the high-risk-for-GDM women who were included in lifestyle interventions

Nurses received a list of patients and were advices to call the women for reminding them of glucose test. Reminder was sent out to the patients from the central hospital nurses or from the central hospital to the health care provider of the patient

A telephone reminder from the central hospital to the women or to their health care provider vs. no reminder: OR: 13.4, 95 % CI (2.1; 12.2), p < 0.0001

Lega et al. (2011) Canada

Register-based observational study

Secondary

Toronto, Canada

Intervention target group: Patients Retrospective study of 314 women from an endocrine clinic, 173 had a checklist for the physician at their record which resulted in a reminder follow-up visit

Outcomes: OGTT Follow-up visit: The effect of a reminder system in the database on screening rates on outpatient postpartum women

No direct intervention

Retrospective recording of checklist on patients in database

Intervention-group: OR (95 % CI) 2.99 (1.84; 4.85) for completion of OGTT.

Intervention-group OR (95 % CI) 3.71 (2.26; 6.11) for follow-up visit

Shea et al. (2011) Canada

Intervention using mailed reminders

Secondary

Ontario, Canada

Intervention group: Patients in screening sites. Three clinical sites providing screening tests with 262 patients in total: two sites received reminder (A and B), one did not (C)

Outcome: Percentage of women who received an OGTT test within 6 months after delivery

Intervention targeted patients

Clinical site A received mailed reminders with a laboratory requisition for OGTT

Clinical site B were sent a laboratory requisition for OGTT, phoned for appointment, or both

Clinical site C: no reminders

Prediction of postpartum glucose screening:

reminder site A vs site C: OR (95 % CI): 1.57 (0.66; 3.70)

reminder site B vs. site C: OR (95 % CI): 3.10 (1.35; 7.14)

Vesco et al. (2012) US

Intervention using combined telephone calls/emails and staff education

Secondary

Oregon and Washington

Intervention target group: Patients

200 Women for the pre-implementation (no intervention group)

179 Women for the post-implementation (intervention group)

Two-fold outcome

1. Outcome among providers was the rates of women for whom a screening test was ordered

2. Patient outcome measured by postpartum screening rates among previous GDM patients

Implementation of a process improvement program consisting of

1. Staff education sessions

2. Revised GDM protocols

3. Implementation of system-based reminders to call in women for glucose screening send out within 3 months of delivery and after 3 months of delivery

With implementation of program the rate of women receiving order for OGTT increased from 77.5 to 88.8 %

Final screening rate with completion of OGTT increased from 59.5 to 71.5 % (p = 0.004), (HR (95 % CI) 1.37 (1.07; 1.75)