Cynthia Herrick, M.D. MPHS
Project Overview:
Type 2 diabetes is a growing public health challenge and gestational diabetes predicts this preventable chronic disease at an early age. Half of all women with gestational diabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes without intervention. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and contributes to heart disease, the leading cause of death. Hence, interventions to detect and prevent diabetes are essential to promoting longevity.
There are clear opportunities to intercede during and after pregnancy to prevent type 2 diabetes; however, it is difficult to operationalize these interventions in low resource settings and traditional healthcare models. The purpose of this pilot is to collect preliminary data on innovative approaches to care delivery to maximize diabetes prevention in vulnerable populations. To achieve this goal, we proposed to 1) evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored intervention delivered by a community health worker to facilitate lifestyle change beginning in pregnancy and continuing into the postpartum period and 2) assess critical implementation outcomes, including reach, adoption, implementation fidelity, and maintenance of the intervention.
Delays related to the COVID-9 pandemic and staff turnover led to premature termination of the study. Patient education materials developed for the study are currently undergoing evaluation and adaption for broader dissemination.
