BRIDGES

This study proposes to develop a theoretically-driven program for training peer educators to lead empowerment-based interventions that, when led by health care professionals, have been associated with improved diabetes-related health and psychosocial outcomes.

The project will examine if adding a motivational interviewing (MI) component to Diabetes Self Management Education will improve program completion rates and help people with diabetes better manage their diabetes for a sustained period of time. If MI is proven to be an effective tool, MI will be incorporated into DSME programs and will result in improved quality of care for persons with diabetes.

The project aims to evaluate measures motivating people at risk to do screening tests for the detection of high risk for prediabetes and diabetes, and to evaluate lifestyle intervention in people at high risk in the community of a medium size city in Vietnam. If successful, the project could be replicated in urban areas in all over the country.

This community-based Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) program endeavors to help people with diabetes in the Philippines acquire the knowledge, self-care practices, and attitudes required for the effective management of diabetes. It offers culturally-appropriate, cost-effective, and comprehensive diabetes care by using locally modified educational materials and tapping support from barangay health workers (BHW). This pilot study is part of a long-term, self-sustaining diabetes program which aims at reducing the burden of diabetes by improving physiologic and behavioral parameters. It aspires to be a “model of community diabetes care” throughout the country, ultimately attenuating disparities in health outcomes for underserved Filipinos in the rural community.

The number of people with diabetes is rapidly increasing. The feet of many of these people will be at risk of ulceration. It has been found that foot ulcers precede 85% of non-traumatic amputations in people with diabetes. It is essential that podiatry services, which are almost absent in Egypt, should be urgently initiated to cope with the rapidly increasing prevalence of diabetes and its complications affecting a great number of Egyptians. They require a specific centre that cares for their feet, education besides the orientation and formation of interested HCP's to undertake these services. This concept would reduce the rate of amputations.

The University Hospital (UH), in Newark, New Jersey is an academic teaching hospital that cares for a low-income and minority populations with diabetes. Many UH hospitalized patients never connect to the outpatient diabetes clinic for a myriad of reasons. Our objective is to fill this gap in our diabetes care by creating a process to: 1) improve access to the outpatient diabetes clinic and 2) actively facilitate continuity in care between the inpatient and outpatient settings. The impact of the program will be a reduction in hospital emergency department visits, inpatient readmissions, and improvement in health-related quality-of-life, health behavior, and metabolic control.