141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

280937
Communities IMPACT diabetes center's vision health toolkit: Utilizing lay health social service providers as messengers of vision health information

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 12:30 PM - 12:45 PM

Michelle A. Ramos, MPH , Department of Health Evidence and Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Ashley Fox, PhD, MA , Department of Health Evidence and Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Brett Ives, MSN, NP, CDE , Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Bone Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Carol R. Horowitz, MD, MPH , Department of Health Evidence and Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Background:Racial/ethnic disparities in vision impairment are prevalent as are low rates for recommended eye screenings. A community-academic partnership aimed to improve vision screening in a low-income, minority neighborhood by developing a multi-component vision health toolkit for social service providers to promote eye exams among their consumers. Methods:Thirty-seven social service, faith-based and health organizations were recruited to adopt the vision toolkit. We surveyed a subset of consumers at 15 intervention and 3 control sites before and 6 months after disseminating the toolkits to assess receipt of comprehensive eye exams and comorbidities. Results:The 156 consumers surveyed were largely female (68%), Black (55%) and had high diabetes (23%) and hypertension (33%) rates. At baseline, 72% reported an eye exam in the past year and there was no difference in eye exam rates in the past year between intervention and control sites. Six month follow-up surveys were completed with 62% of consumers. Respondents at intervention sites were more likely to report a comprehensive eye exam in the past 6 months (45% vs. 24%, p=0.06). Diabetics at intervention sites were also more likely to have had an eye exam in the past 6 months than respondents with diabetes at control sites (66% vs. 33%, p<0.01). Conclusions:Even in a small pilot project, we demonstrated a significant increase in comprehensive eye examinations at intervention sites compared with control sites and among the targeted group - individuals with diabetes. Novel, scalable approaches in community-based settings are a viable means of preventing and controlling diabetes complications, including vision loss.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss racial and ethnic disparities in vision impairment. Describe the Communities IMPACT Diabetes Center's Vision Health Toolkit and its impact on comprehensive eye exams. Assess the feasibility of implementing sustainable, community-based interventions as a viable means of preventing and controlling diabetes complications, including vision loss.

Keywords: Community-Based Health Promotion, Vision Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am currently the Program Manager for Communities IMPACT Diabetes Center. In this position, I have authored and co-authored several articles and presented at local and national conferences about the work of the Center. Moreover, I have over 10 years of professional experience in conducting community-based and health disparities public health research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.