DEI/Health Equity
1
Date of Presentation
5-2-2024 12:00 AM
College
Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
Uncontrolled diabetes may cause preventable but significant effects. One major preventative measure is early screening; there are hopes that community healthcare workers can increase awareness and screening availability, especially in underserved populations. We hosted and recorded logs of patients at mobile COVID health clinics, educating those with uncontrolled diabetes and connecting them to healthcare. We then looked to see if any patients had improvements in blood glucose to non-diabetic levels. 378 patients were logged, but only 138 were in events that had a significant amount of repeat visits. Twenty-five of them had blood sugar indicative of uncontrolled diabetes. Out of those, there were six patients with uncontrolled diabetes and multiple visits. Four of them had improvements in blood glucose on their most recent visit, with two maintaining persistently high levels of blood glucose. While these preliminary studies show promise in the potential efficacy of CHWs in improving screening and outcomes of uncontrolled diabetes, there is a very limited sample size. Future studies should incorporate more patient logs and explore other chronic conditions commonly undiagnosed in underserved populations such as chronic kidney disease and hypertension.
Keywords
Community Healthcare Workers, Community Health Workers, uncontrolled diabetes, Diabetes Mellitus, mobile clinics, high risk, hyperglycemia, random blood sugar, Blood Glucose, Glycemic Control, Diagnostic Screening Programs
Disciplines
Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism | Health Services Research | Integrative Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases | Other Medical Specialties | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms | Preventive Medicine | Public Health | Public Health and Community Nursing | Public Health Education and Promotion
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Integrative Medicine Commons, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Commons, Other Medical Specialties Commons, Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Commons, Preventive Medicine Commons, Public Health and Community Nursing Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons
Community Healthcare Workers (CHW) High-Risk Stabilization Study: Does the Ability of CHWs at Mobile COVID Clinics to Link patients with Uncontrolled Diabetes to a Physician Improve Short Term Outcomes?
Uncontrolled diabetes may cause preventable but significant effects. One major preventative measure is early screening; there are hopes that community healthcare workers can increase awareness and screening availability, especially in underserved populations. We hosted and recorded logs of patients at mobile COVID health clinics, educating those with uncontrolled diabetes and connecting them to healthcare. We then looked to see if any patients had improvements in blood glucose to non-diabetic levels. 378 patients were logged, but only 138 were in events that had a significant amount of repeat visits. Twenty-five of them had blood sugar indicative of uncontrolled diabetes. Out of those, there were six patients with uncontrolled diabetes and multiple visits. Four of them had improvements in blood glucose on their most recent visit, with two maintaining persistently high levels of blood glucose. While these preliminary studies show promise in the potential efficacy of CHWs in improving screening and outcomes of uncontrolled diabetes, there is a very limited sample size. Future studies should incorporate more patient logs and explore other chronic conditions commonly undiagnosed in underserved populations such as chronic kidney disease and hypertension.