- Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and accounted for $116 billion in total U.S. healthcare system costs in 2007 (CDC)
. - Almost 24 million Americans have diabetes, including 5.7 million who don’t know they have the disease (CDC) .
- About 186,300 people younger than 20 years have diabetes—Type 1 or Type 2 (CDC) .
Community Guide Recommendations
Healthcare system level interventions
Case management interventions to improve glycemic control
Case management involves planning, coordinating, and providing healthcare for all people affected by a disease—in this case, diabetes. It is directed to people who are likely to have to use too much of their income to pay for related healthcare services, who are not receiving those services that give them the best chance to stay healthy, or who are receiving services that are not well coordinated with one another.
Disease management programs
Disease management is an organized, proactive, multicomponent approach to healthcare delivery for people with a specific disease, such as diabetes. Care is focused on and integrated across the spectrum of the disease and its complications, the prevention of comorbid conditions, and the relevant aspects of the delivery system.
Disease management:
- Identifies all clients or patients affected by the disease
- Determines the most effective ways to treat the disease
Self-management education
Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is the process of teaching people to manage their diabetes. The goals of DSME are to control the rate of metabolism (which affects diabetes-related health), to prevent short- and long-term health conditions that result from diabetes, and to achieve for clients the best possible quality of life, while keeping costs at an acceptable level.
DSME can be provided in a variety of community settings, including community gathering places, the home, recreational camps, worksites, and schools.