‘DRIVE for Sustained and Equitable Diabetes Outcomes through Quality Improvement and Community-Led Intervention’ program aims to advance prevention and treatment in underserved communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 21, 2022)—Today, National Minority Quality Forum’s Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity (SHC) announced that it received a grant from Novo Nordisk Inc. to fund its “DRIVE for Sustained and Equitable Diabetes Outcomes through Quality Improvement and Community-Led Intervention” program to engage in a multi-tiered approach supported by national infrastructure that prioritizes community leadership and co-design between experts in barbershops, salons, Black churches, and a community-based health clinic in Oakland, Calif.
The intervention will occur at both the prevention and treatment arms of the diabetes continuum of care and will specifically include the following activities to be co-designed by West Oakland Health clinic, Health Advocates in Reach and Research (HAIR) Wellness Warriors, and Faith Health Alliance (FHA) partners in Oakland, Calif.:
– Clinical education and advancing health equity through the Demonstrating Real Improvement in Value and Equity (DRIVE) quality improvement (QI) model;
– Diabetes self-management education (DSME);
– Weight management activities; and
– Nutrient-dense food access.
“We know what works to help people of color control their diabetes and improve their health – access to effective medicines, glucose monitoring, healthy food and a safe place to exercise – with the patient empowered with education,” Laura Lee Hall, Ph.D., President of SHC, said. “We also have shown that clinicians and trusted community partners are essential to promoting health equity. We are excited to bring our DRIVE program to the people with diabetes in Oakland, Calif.”
HAIR and FHA participants will engage their congregants in DSME, weight management activities, and nutrient-dense food access in partnership with West Oakland Health. Activities related to each of these areas will service church congregants, the clients of HAIR participants, and the patient population of West Oakland Health. In parallel, champions at West Oakland Health will identify QI needs, develop a QI program, and implement the intervention with the national assistance of SHC staff. The intervention will include QI training, health equity training, regular QI coaching calls, and ad hoc programmatic meetings.
The program will boast a multi-faceted communications approach to include culturally appropriate communication tools. An advisory group that will include national and local health champions from West Oakland Health, HAIR Wellness Warriors, FHA, and diabetes experts will review resources, outreach strategies, and evaluation approaches.
Training materials will be updated with diabetes education and disseminated nationally. Results will be submitted to the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES) conference in August of 2023 and 2024. Evaluation of the program will include a mixed-methods, pre-/post-analysis including analysis of reach, provider and patient knowledge, attitudes, and practices, implementation, and changes in health measures using EHR and self-reported data from surveys and focus groups.
West Oakland Health, Oakland HAIR Wellness Warriors, and Oakland FHA participants will integrate into a sustained, national network for peer-to-peer learning, communications activities, and QI programs.
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About National Minority Quality Forum
The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. The mission of NMQF is to reduce patient risk by assuring optimal care for all. NMQF’s vision is an American health services research, delivery and financing system whose operating principle is to reduce patient risk for amenable morbidity and mortality while improving quality of life. For more information, please visit www.nmqf.org.
About the Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity
The Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity promotes sustainable healthy communities, especially those with diverse and underserved populations, through the provision of actionable data, research, and engagement of clinicians and community leaders. For more information, please visit www.nmqf-shc.org.