There is a huge diabetes epidemic in the US, with around 37.3 million or one in 10 Americans living with diabetes, and one in five unaware that they have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This chronic disease is the eighth leading cause of death in the country, costing around $327 billion in medical costs and lost work and wages each year. Diabetes has a huge negative effect on a person’s quality of life and is the leading cause of blindness in the US. Type 2 diabetes is also associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a leading cause of dementia.
Health People, a health education nonprofit based in The Bronx in New York, says that one of the most effective ways in helping people prevent or manage diabetes is peer-to-peer education. This is especially important in low-income areas, due to lack of access to medical resources and higher incidence of diabetes caused by poor diet. Founded in 1990, Health People began as a women’s HIV/AIDS peer education program, and was a pioneer in government-funded community education programs about the virus. In the early 2000s, Health People saw the rapid increase of people being diagnosed with diabetes, especially in underprivileged populations and even seeing more adolescents/young adults stricken. This prompted Health People to create its diabetes peer education model to spearhead well-informed community action.
Health People’s diabetes prevention and self-management class is a six-session course that teaches people how to take care of themselves and watch their lifestyle factors, such as weight and diet. This includes teaching them how to spot sugar content in the labels of the food they consume. To meet the need for community educators, Health People’s peer training program gives people with limited education and work experience the skills to succeed and to successfully deliver community health solutions, particularly in diabetes. This also includes HIV/AIDS, asthma, and tobacco cessation. It is a rigorous 4- to 6-week training program, followed by a 6-month internship.
“The main problem is that most people don't have the support and self care education to start to take action on diabetes,” says Chris Norwood, Founder and Executive Director of Health People. “There’s a huge myth that low-income people won't respond to these things. But my experience is exactly the opposite – people are so anxious to better understand their health. But they're very confused, and it's not entirely their fault, because there’s so much wrong information on TV and social media. There are no serious public health campaigns by the government to give people fundamental information about diabetes.”
According to Norwood, when Health People implemented a diabetes self-management program in Bronx homeless shelters, it resulted in a 45% reduction in emergency room visits for diabetes-related causes in a six-month period, and the program was evaluated by the New York City Department of Health.
Despite these successes and clear healthcare savings, government funding for Health People’s work in preventing and managing diabetes has been on-and-off, with City, State, and Federal health authorities refusing to provide continuous, long-term funding for the programs. Even if the programs have shown tangible results, they are still not funded by Medicaid or Medicare.
Norwood says that consistent funding will allow Health People to continuously provide its diabetes peer education model to low-income communities around New York, and there should be pressure on elected officials and health authorities to provide funding for this effective solution for diabetes prevention and management. Aside from government funding, Norwood says big businesses and private health institutions should also support these programs, as the reduction in emergency room visits will help alleviate the hospital capacity crisis in the US and result in better health in the community.
“We've shown that this model works for a lot of things,” Norwood says. “When it's your neighbor or relative reaching out to you about diabetes, it's different. If it’s a government employee or health worker, no matter how nice they are, people feel that they're being judged. Almost every one of our diabetes educators have lost weight, including some who’ve lost a hundred pounds or more. Many of our educators were able to reverse their diabetes and get their blood sugar back to normal, so they're not on medications any more. That's what you call a credible messenger. Not everybody can achieve huge results, but, with diabetes, small reductions in blood sugar are important and have a huge, cumulative impact.”
Media contact:
Name: Chris Norwood
Email: [email protected]
