Closing the Gap for Diabetes Diabetes and its complications disproportionately affect low income racial and ethnic groups. …
Closing the Gap for Diabetes
The Highlands County Health Department HCHD provides a wide range of
personal and public health services to a diverse population and has
received a Closing the Gap CTG grant from the Office of Minority Health
in Tallahassee to decrease health disparities in the area of diabetes for
Highlands County Our Closing the Gap Program is a valuable resource to
serve our minority populations who are diabetics or are at risk for
diabetes Without Gap services, there are limited community resources for
uninsured low income individuals to receive diabetes self-management
education, prevention education and screening/assessment for diabetes Our
Gap program helps to ensure that the low income, minority residents of
Highlands County who are disproportionately affected by diabetes will have
access to education to empower them to control or prevent diabetes
Background:
There exists a gap in the quality of health and access to health care
across racial and ethnic groups in America The Health Resources and
Services Administration refer to such a gap as a health disparity In
the United States, health disparities are well documented in
minority
populations such as African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans
and Latinos When compared to whites, these minority groups have a higher
incidence of chronic diseases, higher death rates, and poorer health
outcomes for chronic diseases such as diabetes Diabetes and its
complications disproportionately affect low income racial and ethnic
groups Also, these differences, higher chronic disease rates and less
than optimal health outcomes, are often attributed to a lack of access to
necessary health care
Highlands County has higher age adjusted death rates AADR and
hospitalization rates due to diabetes than the state, as well as
significant racial and ethnic disparities regarding diabetes The
mortality rate for Blacks, due to diabetes is 38 times that of whites and
the mortality rate for Hispanics is 17 times that of whites The very
real disparities seen in Highlands County are greater than those in the
state The Highlands County rates for Blacks and Hispanics exceed each of
their respective state rates and have an increasing trend
Highlands County has significant barriers to health care access and
was designated a primary medical care health
professional shortage area by
the US Department of Health and Human Services According to the 2002,
Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, only 76 of Highlands
County residents have health insurance compared to 84 for the state Lack
of transportation, language and knowledge are also significant barriers
The Program:
The Closing the Gap program targets the low income, uninsured, and
minorities in Highlands County Our main goal is to provide these clients
with a system of care through diabetes self-management education DSME,
which will enhance the quality of their life through prevention or
reduction of disease complications Until Closing the Gap, Highlands
County had only one DSME program serving only insured, English speaking
clients
Closing the Gap will be offering culturally sensitive bi-lingual
diabetes education at convenient community sites where minority residents
congregate, ie, churches An ongoing objective is to increase the number
of diabetics who work to prevent complications by having a glycosylated
hemoglobin HgbA1c measurement at least twice a year, an annual dilated
eye examination, at least an annual foot examination, an annual lipid
panel
and an annual flu vaccination
Another main objective is to provide diabetes prevention education, 8-
Weeks to Wellness, Ocho Semanas Hacia la Salud Integral to a minimum of
400 individuals in our area Currently, the Closing the Gap staff are
conducting assessments of minorities in Highlands County Those at
greatest risk for developing diabetes are individuals who have a family
member with diabetes, are older than 45 years of age and over weight
These individuals will be invited to participate in the 8-Weeks to Wellness
class Both the DSME and the 8-Weeks to Wellness are free of charge to
minorities in Highlands County
For more information regarding the Closing the Gap program, please
call David George at the Highlands County Health Department, 863 382-
7228
David George, MS, PhD ABD is the Closing the Gap Program Coordinator for
the Highlands County Health Department
