In a study recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association, peer educators from Project Dulce followed diabetics who were discharged from the hospital.
The educators helped connect patients with resources in the community, and taught them how to stay on top of their condition.
After six months, these patients had a lower hospital readmission rate than diabetics who didn’t get the extra help.
Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas, Project Dulce’s medical director, said her program is also using text messaging to prompt diabetics to take their medication.
“We need to continue finding innovative, and easy, simple approaches to trying to inform the population at risk," Philis-Tsimikas explained.
About 86 million Americans are considered at risk of getting diabetes. More than 29 million Americans have already been diagnosed.
