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CoDE: Community Diabetes Education for Uninsured Mexican Americans

Author: Cullica, D.
Date Published: 2007


Low-cost diabetes education programs that target Mexican Americans are essential to reduce the observed health disparities in the this population. A culturally appropriate intervention was developed as the centerpiece of the Community Diabetes Education (CODE) program. This article describes the structure patient acceptance, and costs of this one-to-one education model delivered in seen patient acceptance, and costs of this one-to-one educational model delivered in seven patient contact hours by a community health worker over 12 months in a community clinic serving the uninsured. A total of 152 patients--predominantly female, Spanish-speaking Mexican American patients with type 2 diabetes of mean duration of 6-5 years--enrolled in the program and a dropout rate of 22 percent was observed during the 12-minth period. Preliminary analysis indicated that program capacity was 120 patients per month, and the annual direct medical expenditure per CoDE participating was $461. The hemoglobin A was significantly reduced in patients who participated in the program for 12 months. Sustainable and low-cost community based programs like Code and long-term patient participation will help reduce the burden of diabetes in the underserved Hispanic population.

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Number of Pages: 6