UIC to study diabetes management in blacks and Latinos
Managing diabetes: University of Illinois at Chicago will research whether assistance from lay health workers will help blacks and Latinos who have uncontrolled diabetes better manage their disease. | File photo
Uncontrolled diabetes is a problem for some blacks and Latinos, and University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have received a federal grant to study ways to fix it.
The $3 million funding will pay for research on whether help from lay health workers will make it easier for these patients to manage their disease.
The researchers will assign patients to two groups. Both will get diabetes assistance from a clinic-based pharmacist. One group will get additional help from a health advocate for things like cultural and language barriers. It will be phased out, then offered to the second group.
The study will examine if the extra support helps patients properly use their medicine and avoid heading to emergency rooms and clinics for treatment.
— The Associated Press
RESOURCES
The American Diabetes Foundation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention