Introduction of a community health worker diabetes coach improved glycemic control in an urban primary care clinic
Recommended Citation
Coleman CM, Bossick AS, Zhou Y, Hopkins-Johnson L, Otto MG, Nair AS, Willens DE, and Wegienka GR. Introduction of a community health worker diabetes coach improved glycemic control in an urban primary care clinic. Prev Med Rep 2021; 21:101267.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2021
Publication Title
Prev Med Rep
Abstract
The burden of diabetes is higher in urban areas and among racial and ethnic minorities. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of extending a diabetes intervention program (DIP) by engaging a team, including a community health worker (CHW), to provide care for patients to meet glycemic control, specifically in a predominantly urban, minority patient population. The DIP enrolled diabetic patients from an internal medicine clinic. A CHW facilitated the collection of glucose meter readings. The CHW coached patients on glycemic control while the CHW's registered nurse partner titrated the patient's recommended insulin dose. Subsequent HbA1c values for participants were compared to those seen at the same clinic who were not enrolled. The DIP was deployed for nine months. One hundred forty-four patients were enrolled in the DIP and 348 patients constituted the comparator group. Ninety-three DIP participants had pre- and post-intervention HbA1c values and were compared to 348 non-DIP participants. Propensity score weighted adjusted analyses suggest that participants were more likely to reduce their HbA1c values by at least 1.0% and have HbA1c values of less than 8.0% (64 mmol/mol) than non-participants (adjusted odds ratio = aOR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.26-1.71, and aOR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.06-1.43, respectively). CHW coaches as part of a team in a clinical setting improved glycemic control in a predominantly urban, minority patient population.
PubMed ID
33364150
Volume
21
First Page
101267
Last Page
101267