Study to address disparities for diabetes care

Sherrie Kaplan and Dr. Sheldon Greenfield, executive co-directors of UC Irvine’s Center for Health Policy Research, have been awarded a five-year grant for $2.7 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to increase the adoption of best practices for improving health outcomes for diabetes patients. With a focus on addressing disparities, the study will include a randomized trial of “community coaches” (volunteer Latinos and Vietnamese-Americans drawn from the patients’ community who themselves have diabetes), who will be training patients to be more participatory in their interactions with the treating physicians and thereby taking more control over their disease management. This grant is a follow-up to a three-year, $1.9 million grant awarded to Kaplan (pictured) from the Novo Nordisk Corporation in 2005.