Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes on the South Side of Chicago

The Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes project aims to reduce diabetes disparities and engages patients, providers, clinics, and community collaborators to improve the health care and outcomes of African-Americans on the South Side of Chicago. Initiated in 2009, this project is a collaborative, community-based intervention that employs a multifaceted, integrated approach to address many of the root causes of health disparities. The short-term goal of this project is to improve clinic processes such as appointment scheduling and patient counseling through quality improvement efforts, as well as clinical outcomes including HbA1c, cholesterol and blood pressure in patients with diabetes through patient education. Long-term goals are to strengthen the network of community health centers, community-based organizations and academic medical centers, while increasing awareness of local diabetes disparities and empowering communities to combat this problem.