Improving diabetes care of community-dwelling underserved older adults

Diabetes care among rural underserved older adults is negatively affected by social determinants of health (SDOH). Although there is an increased awareness of this problem, evidence-based clinical and community interventions are not widely integrated. This project implemented telemedicine and community health worker (CHW) interventions to improve diabetes management and outcomes.

One in five older adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) at a Federally Qualified Health Center in southwest Ohio has uncontrolled disease, largely due to their limited resources and ability to participate in routine clinical management.

This quality improvement project used a pre-post intervention design. Participants were adults aged ≥65 years with uncontrolled DM type 1 or 2. The outcomes of interest included A1C values, diabetes self-care activities, diabetes knowledge, and patient and health care provider (HCP) satisfaction levels.

The project involved biweekly CHW home visits and diabetes self-management education for 12 weeks. The CHWs, with supervision from a nurse practitioner, conducted SDOH assessments and basic education, and facilitated same-day telemedicine appointments with the HCP to reinforce disease management.

The A1C levels and diabetes knowledge of older adults significantly improved after three months. However, there were no statistically significant changes in diabetes self-care activities. The patients and HCPs were highly satisfied with the project interventions.

This project delivered patient-centered and equitable diabetes care services that were previously unavailable to underserved older patients, while demonstrably improving outcomes. Future research should evaluate the cost-effectiveness, long-term impact, and sustainability of the project in other primary care settings.