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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jerry A. Schultz, PhD¹, Cathy Davis, PhD², Valorie Carson, MS¹, Vicki L. Collie-Akers, MPH¹, and John Cyprus, MEd³. (1) Work Group for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., Dole Center, Room 4082, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-0533, jschultz@ku.edu, (2) UAW-Ford Community Health Initiative, 6000 N. Oak St., Kansas City, MO 64118, (3) Kansas City-Chronic Disease, 18th and Prospect, Kansas CIty, MO 64127

The Kansas City-Chronic Disease Coalition, a REACH 2010 project, addresses health disparities among African-Americans and Latinos in Kansas City, Missouri. The aim of this case study is to understand the contribution of community/system change to addressing risk factors for diabetes that can lead to changes in population-level indicators of diabetes, as well as access to care for diabetes. Community/system change refers to discrete instances of new or modified programs (e.g., cooking classes), policies (e.g., nutrition labels), and practices (e.g., doctors hand out guidelines) facilitated by KC-CDC and related to preventing diabetes or improving care. We hypothesize that community/system changes are linked to population-level outcomes when community changes are of greater amount, intensity, duration and exposure. Preliminary results indicate that between 2001 and 2005, KC-CDC facilitated 550 community/systems changes that focused heavily on the African American population of the target area. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey was used to collect information about the level of risk behavior such as limited consumption of fruits and vegetables and limited exercise in the target area. Preliminary results show that increased exposure to community/systems change is associated with increases in the consumption of fruits and vegetables and exercise among African American men and women. Efforts were also made to change physician practice patterns, for example, by providing physicians with a consolidated report of screenings for A1c and LDL. Results show that the number of individuals with uncontrolled A1c decreased.

Learning Objectives:

• Define community/systems change for preventing risk for diabetes
• Describe the hypothesis that links community change to outcomes.
• Describe the outcomes related to the community/systems changes brought about by KC-CDC.

Keywords: Diabetes, Community-Based Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered