Medical Inspection – Health Blog

Although state and national health statistics ranked noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus as the most prevalent chronic disease among American adults—with African Americans disproportionately affected—and despite a community-based diabetes intervention effort that included mass screening and education initiated four years prior—none of the congregation leadership had ranked it as important at baseline. However, following an education providing [...]

At baseline, 21 of the 41 congregations identified agreed to participate, representing a variety of Christian and Muslim communities. These congregations served a total of about 9,600 persons, and congregation sizes ranged from 120 to 1,200 members. The follow-up period ranged from three-to-five years, although the median follow-up was four years.

Project DIRECT Project DIRECT (Diabetes Interventions Reaching and Educating Communities Together), is a community-based demonstration project first funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1993. Its overarching goal was to reduce the burden of diabetes among African Americans in southeast Raleigh, NC. Recruitment and intervention methods for the parent project are detailed [...]

INTRODUCTION African Americans are at higher risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancer compared to their white counterparts. While some of the disparities can in part be attributed to nonmodifiable factors, such as age or genetic predisposition, some of this risk can be attributed to modifiable lifestyle factors, such as physical inactivity, tobacco use, [...]