UVA nabs $300K to pioneer type 2 diabetes program
The University of Virginia (UVA) Health System in Charlottesville has received a $300,000 grant to study the “Call to Health” model, which uses text messages, stress reduction and other techniques to help African-American women manage type 2 diabetes.
UVA was one of five organizations to receive two-year grants from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation as part of the foundation’s $100 million effort to improve the health of Americans with type 2 diabetes, especially among groups such as African-American women who more frequently suffer from diabetes.
The “Call to Health” model focuses on empowering patients to control and manage their diabetes, according to the university. The program includes:
• Supportive text messages: Patients will design their own text messages, which may include reminders to take their medication or to exercise. Healthcare providers from UVA will also send weekly text messages designed to spark discussion about how to better manage their diabetes.
• Group medical appointments: Along with education on managing their diabetes through exercise and dietary changes, patients will also learn stress reduction techniques.
• “Buddy” program: Patients in the program will chose a “buddy” – who may or may not have diabetes – to help them develop goals for improved health, support them through phone calls and accompany them to the group medical visits.
During the two-year study, UVA researchers will partner with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Community Obesity Task Force to compare the Call to Health model with the standard diabetes treatment provided at UVA’s University Medical Associates clinic. Researchers will also examine whether women more effectively manage their diabetes when they participate in all three main elements of the model—text messages, group medical appointments and the buddy program—compared with receiving text messages only.
UVA was one of five organizations to receive two-year grants from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation as part of the foundation’s $100 million effort to improve the health of Americans with type 2 diabetes, especially among groups such as African-American women who more frequently suffer from diabetes.
The “Call to Health” model focuses on empowering patients to control and manage their diabetes, according to the university. The program includes:
• Supportive text messages: Patients will design their own text messages, which may include reminders to take their medication or to exercise. Healthcare providers from UVA will also send weekly text messages designed to spark discussion about how to better manage their diabetes.
• Group medical appointments: Along with education on managing their diabetes through exercise and dietary changes, patients will also learn stress reduction techniques.
• “Buddy” program: Patients in the program will chose a “buddy” – who may or may not have diabetes – to help them develop goals for improved health, support them through phone calls and accompany them to the group medical visits.
During the two-year study, UVA researchers will partner with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Community Obesity Task Force to compare the Call to Health model with the standard diabetes treatment provided at UVA’s University Medical Associates clinic. Researchers will also examine whether women more effectively manage their diabetes when they participate in all three main elements of the model—text messages, group medical appointments and the buddy program—compared with receiving text messages only.