Building Community Supports for Diabetes

The goal of Building Community Supports for Diabetes was to improve the health outcomes of people with type 2 diabetes living in Galveston County, Texas.

Galveston County Health District and its community partners developed, implemented and supported various program components. Over 50 coaches were trained to teach "Take Action," a diabetes self management course. In addition, a cooking and nutrition course called "Whisking your Way to Health" was taught and diabetes support groups were held. The classes and support groups were held at various locations, including: community health centers, a university hospital clinic, a work site program, senior citizen centers, low-income housing projects, community centers, faith-based institutions, pharmacy waiting rooms, Friday Food Fairs, a family home, and a hurricane evacuation shelter.

The goal of the program was to improve the health outcomes of people with type 2 diabetes by training community coaches to teach effective self-care.

There were 704 participants, who made many improvements in their nutrition habits. For example, 72% of participants reported that they were reading nutrition labels more often and 78% reported that they were consuming smaller portions. In addition, 74% of participants performed a daily foot check and 76% began to exercise.