Connecting Clinical and Community Partners: Pre-Diabetes and Risk Reduction in New York State

Objective:Build the capacity to implement group-based diabetes prevention programs for individuals with pre-diabetes in YMCAs across New York State (NYS).

Methods:The New York State Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP), is partnering with the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) and an advisory group to implement the NYS Community Diabetes Prevention Initiative (CDPI) in the next five years. The NYS CDPI will utilize the DEPLOY/PLAN4WARD model developed by the Indiana University Diabetes Translational Research Center, which translates the success of the Diabetes Prevention Program into the community setting. Ten YMCA sites have been selected based on capacity, interest and ability to serve high-risk, disparate populations. Selected YMCA sites will receive start-up funding of $10,000 for a 12-month period. The DPCP is working to identify clinical partners to facilitate the referral of patients with pre-diabetes into YMCA programs. Potential clinical partners include health centers, private practices and other primary care sites with established high-risk, disparate patient populations.

Results:Beginning in 2010, clinical partners will implement a pre-diabetes referral algorithm during routine office visits. Each of the YMCAs will implement the 16-week curriculum three times, reaching at least 300 individuals with pre-diabetes.

Conclusion:A comprehensive evaluation and return on investment analysis is planned to demonstrate the impact of the initiative and educate public and private insurers about the potential for improved health outcomes and cost savings.