Diabetes care: provider disparities in the US Appalachian region.
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INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is a devastating and growing problem in the USA and throughout the world. Parts of Appalachia, especially the most rural and economically 'distressed' areas of the region, have disproportionately high levels of diabetes incidence and have had long-standing problems in healthcare access. PURPOSE: Little is known about the status of public health infrastructures and expertise available to address the diabetes epidemic, whether in Appalachia or elsewhere. This research examines the availability of professional diabetes care in Appalachia, including the economically distressed areas of the region. METHODS: A 2006 cross-sectional survey of healthcare providers in the Appalachian Region identified diabetes service needs and availability in Appalachian healthcare facilities. Survey data and socioeconomic data were combined as a means to assess intra-regional variation in service availability. RESULTS: Participants perceived that diabetes prevalence was growing in Appalachia and that they were seeing increasing numbers of persons with diabetes. Healthcare facilities in the region rarely employed specialized health professional providers and the expertise concerning diabetes in some clinicians may be limited. CONCLUSION: The current and growing diabetes problem in Appalachia underscores the need for appropriate diabetes services and health professionals acquainted with current standards in diabetes care. Such problems in Appalachia have long been identified and linked with insufficient healthcare resources. The identification of ways to assure that local clinicians have current knowledge of diabetes standards of care is warranted. (+info)
Diabetes education in the Appalachian region: providers' views.
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INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to examine provider perceptions concerning the provision and accessibility of diabetes education, according to levels of economic distress and rurality throughout the US Appalachian region. METHODS: A questionnaire regarding diabetes education resources was developed and mailed to all Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), health departments, and known certified diabetes educators (CDEs) in the Appalachian region. Diabetes education was examined according to historical economic distress, distressed/at risk (DAR) versus not DAR (NDAR). RESULTS: Diabetes education classes were offered equally across DAR and NDAR locations and most patients with diabetes had attended. The CDEs and physicians were less common in DAR compared with NDAR sites (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]=0.33 [0.13, 0.85] and 59.1 vs 166.9 per 100 000; p < 0.001). The DAR sites were more likely than NDAR sites to report transportation (aORs 2.19-4.94) as a problem for patients and insufficient staff (aOR=2.50 [1.20, 5.18]) as a problem for diabetes education programs. CONCLUSIONS: Although DAR areas functioned with fewer health professionals than NDAR areas, many of the barriers to providing education affected patients and health professionals in both DAR and NDAR areas. (+info)
Ohio Appalachian women's perceptions of the cost of cervical cancer screening.
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Residence in a distressed county in Appalachia as a risk factor for diabetes, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2006-2007.
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INTRODUCTION: We compared the risk of diabetes for residents of Appalachian counties to that of residents of non-Appalachian counties after controlling for selected risk factors in states containing at least 1 Appalachian county. METHODS: We combined Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2006 and 2007 and conducted a logistic regression analysis, with self-reported diabetes as the dependent variable. We considered county of residence (5 classifications for Appalachian counties, based on economic development, and 1 for non-Appalachian counties), age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, household income, smoking status, physical activity level, and obesity to be independent variables. The classification "distressed" refers to counties in the worst 10%, compared with the nation as a whole, in terms of 3-year unemployment rate, per capita income, and poverty. RESULTS: Controlling for covariates, residents in distressed Appalachian counties had 33% higher odds (95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.60) of reporting diabetes than residents of non-Appalachian counties. We found no significant differences between other classifications of Appalachian counties and non-Appalachian counties. CONCLUSION: Residents of distressed Appalachian counties are at higher risk of diabetes than are residents of other counties. States with distressed Appalachian counties should implement culturally sensitive programs to prevent diabetes. (+info)
Resolving postglacial phylogeography using high-throughput sequencing.
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