Patients Get DEEP into Diabetes

Diabetes, a chronic disease of high blood sugar levels in which the body either doesn’t produce sufficient insulin and/or is unable to use it effectively, is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.

The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine has partnered with the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing to offer a free diabetes self-management education called the Diabetes Empowerment Education Program (DEEP) for patients at its clinics in northeast El Paso, Socorro and Fabens in collaboration with TMF Health Quality Institute.

Diabetes and its complications continue to be a prominent and challenging health concern for the border region. Residents of this area have a prevalence of diabetes of 15.7 percent almost twice that of the general U.S. population.

The goal of the eight-week DEEP program is to increase knowledge about the disease and motivate healthy lifestyle changes within a community in need, said Rebekah Salaiz, M.S., health educator in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Trained facilitators teach patients about diabetes risk factors, complications and management through medication, blood sugar levels, physical activity and nutrition.

“Patients also learn how to apply class information to their daily lives,” Salaiz said. “Participants learn about food labels, portion size, exercise, signs of high or low blood sugar, the need for regular meals, the importance of taking medication and communicating with their physicians.”

It is projected that by 2030, the number of El Paso adults diagnosed with diabetes will reach between 20 to 25 percent of the population. Hispanics and blacks have higher rates of diabetes-associated kidney damage, retinal damage and diabetes-related amputations than whites. The mortality rate from diabetes in El Paso County is also one of the nation’s highest.

“Managing diabetes is important to avoid or delay the onset of complications such as high blood pressure, kidney failure and damage to the heart, brain, liver and eyes,” Salaiz said. “Diabetes self-management classes have proven to help increase patient knowledge and self-care, thus reducing the number of complications and leading to maintenance of healthy glucose levels among other benefits.”

Project investigators are evaluating DEEP’s influence on patients’ knowledge and beliefs about diabetes, along with measuring clinical indicators such as A1C (a test that measures average blood glucose control for the past two to three months), blood pressure and weight.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine offers these classes through collaboration with TMF Health Quality Institute’s Health for Life/Salud por Vida project to improve health outcomes among Hispanics with diabetes. Classes will continue through March 2012. For more information about DEEP, call (915) 757-3178 extension 304.

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