Community Guide Use
The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, Ohio used The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide) to develop, implement, and evaluate a diabetes management program, which resulted in a combined weight loss of 115.1 pounds and 22.8 point body mass index (BMI) decrease in 14 participants. Click the PDF icon to download the full text of this "Community Guide success story, "The Community Guide and Personalized Educational and Experiential Modules for Diabetes Management."

 

Implementation
In recognition of the increasing prevalence of diabetes in the Akron Metropolitan area, the GAR Foundation (Akron, OH) funded the development, implementation, and evaluation of an educational and experiential diabetes management program. The program, led by a multi-disciplinary team, was offered to 26 participants at three diverse clinical sites: University of Akron Nursing Center, Summa Health System Family Medicine Center, and Akron General Medical Center. The program included two-hour education sessions on diabetes, techniques for self-management, nutrition, physical activity, and stress management.  In addition to educating individuals in the community with diabetes, the other goal of the project was to improve system level practices at each site in adherence to national standards of care. 

  

Outcomes
The diabetes management program was received well by participants, and participant results were encouraging.

Model Capacity
The diabetes management program served as a promising evidence-based intervention that was well received by participants, because it used recommendations from The Community Guide and involved a multi-disciplinary team to present and implement the educational and experiential components. The Community Guide recommendations were a high impact solution to the increasing prevalence of diabetes that contributed to the participants’ improved disease self-management and increased self-efficacy. 

 

Resulting Changes in Practice
Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron revised a diabetes management program using The Community Guide to assist them in tailoring the intervention to the needs of their population. There were 12 two-hour sessions at each of the three sites held between July and December 2011. Because The Community Guide findings indicate that "interventions are rarely coordinated with the patient's clinical care provider," Austen BioInnovation coordinated the care and helped increase the communication between the participants and providers.

 

Partnerships and Collaborations
The three participating sites: University of Akron Nursing Center, Summa Health System Family Medicine Center, and Akron General Medical Center for Family Medicine identified potential participants and jointly shared this information. The sites were two family medicine sites and one advanced practice nursing site, another example of the multi-disciplinary aspects of this program. The family medicine sites were led by a DO and an MD. The Nursing Center site lead was an MSN RN CNS. A practitioner from each site led one of the sessions, “Getting the Best Care for Your Diabetes,” at that site.  Information on tests and frequency of testing, foot care, eye care, and skin care was presented. The practitioners from each site also discussed how to partner with the participants’ healthcare providers and included site-specific information.  

 

 

 

View all of The Community Guide success stories from the 2012 "I'm Your Community Guide!" Contest.