Increasing Awareness of Diabetes in Underserved Communities

Steve Adubato goes on-location to the "Generations for Garfield" program to discuss the importance of implementing a community-focused diabetes prevention program in the City of Garfield, NJ, with a grant from The Russell Berrie Foundation, to help increase awareness of diabetes in underserved communities in coordination with the Diabetes Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center.  

3/31/2020 #2284

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Thirty million Americans are currently dealing with diabetes within five years that number is projected to go potentially as high as 15 million 12% of the population just in the garden state our home state of new jersey this is Steve Adubato on location and we are at the Garfield community engagement center talking about diabetes what you need to know on our end. Mm hm. The grant that we received is about public awareness. Yes. Around diabetes and I have to tell you one of the first things that struck me is I’m not sure people a know what diabetes is doctor and b the difference between type 1 and type 2 you're on. Well Steve that is certainly a question that comes up a lot. Diabetes is in a simple ways basically a problem with how insulin works and there are several types type 1 diabetes is where there is destruction of the islet cells in the pancreas that are responsible for making and secreting insulin type 2 diabetes is a more slow and progressive form where there is decreased production of insulin or that person might just be resistant to the insulin that they make is one more dangerous than the other. You know we like to think of it that all diabetes is dangerous the difference in part might be that with type 1 much more sudden onset and so the symptoms sometimes are much more severe--What are they--? So for example unintentional weight loss that is rapid over days or weeks increased thirst. Increased urination feeling extremely tired numbness and tingling of the hands or feet blurry vision recurrent infections that don't seem to heal. Mm...So those are the things that we certainly want our listeners to be aware of but for most of our patients they have no symptoms, there is a program called the Prevent t2 program that the centers for disease control the federal government put out what is that program doctor? that's a program that's basically geared towards helping persons who have who are at risk for diabetes to begin to implement lifestyle measures exercise so that they can prevent the development of the disease so Russell Berrie foundation has given us a three-year grant to implement the prevent t2 program in the city of Garfield and so that program has allowed us to engage different community members to learn more about diabetes and then to join in our t2 program, we are in fact joined by Darlene Reveille who is in fact a public health nurse city of Garfield coordinator a program called generations for Garfield which is, is a h friendly community initiative it's funded by the Henry and..."