Name of the project
- The Community Diabetes Initiative
Project abstract/brief description
- Funding provided by the W.M. Keck Foundation, enabled a unique collaboration between Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California to create the Keck Diabetes Prevention Initiative (KDPI). The project goal was to develop a visionary initiative aimed at: 1) reducing the prevalence of obesity and diabetes in two low-income Los Angeles communities; and 2) enhancing the prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes by improving services for these chronic conditions. The two target communities were located in South Los Angeles and East Los Angeles, specifically in and around the zip codes of 90059 and 90022 respectively. During a two year planning process, KDPI worked to: 1) identify the factors that contribute to decisions about diet, physical activity, and healthcare utilization within the target communities; 2) develop strategies to prevent diabetes and promote healthy lifestyle choices that are appropriate for the populations served; and 3) engage and mobilize experts, government officials, community leaders, and local residents in these efforts. The KDPI planning process laid the groundwork for a comprehensive intervention plan to be spearheaded by a partnership of community residents, leaders, policy-makers and researchers.
As a result of the planning phases, seven key intervention components were identified. 1) Healthy Schools: restructuring the school food and physical activity environment. 2) Fitness for All: provision of community based weight loss/weight maintenance classes. 3) Community Education: programs that educate children, families, and adults through community and faith based settings on the topics of healthy and affordable shopping, healthy cooking, physical activity, and prevention of diabetes are desired by community members. 4) Promotora/Health Educator Based Diabetes Disease Management: utilization of community-based peer educators “Promotoras” to help patients sustain successful diabetes self-management behaviors and provide positive reinforcement for the patients and their families. 5) Capacity Building to Promote Physical Fitness and Healthy Eating: through a mini-grant process, community and faith-based organizations would develop programs and/or materials specifically to reach their target audience as a means to: increase intake of dietary fiber, fruits, and vegetables; decrease intake of high fat and high sugar foods; increase intake of water and low fat milk; decrease intake of added sugar beverages; and increase amount of physical activity. 6) Healthy Physical Environments: creating safe health-friendly community and transportation infrastructures, including parks, bike trails, and walkways; maximizing space by co-locating schools with parks, libraries, health facilities and other public infrastructure; developing parks, playgrounds or community produce gardens in vacant lots; and encouraging farmers markets and community gardens to be established in the neighborhoods. 7) Diabetes and Obesity Prevention Research.
The implementation phase of the above mentioned intervention components is know as the Community Diabetes Initiatives of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. A core staff has been established to coordinate and implement this multifaceted approach to community change. This team is responsible for: a) engaging stakeholders on an ongoing basis, b) maintaining Community Advisory Boards, c) providing technical assistance in the community, d) seeking funding to implement interventions, f) leading policy advocacy efforts aimed at improving the health and fitness of community residents, g) conducting program specific and community wide evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the interventions and initiative, h) disseminating research and evaluation findings, and i) implementing grant funded programs that support the initiative.
Name of Principal Investigator
- Fran Kaufman and Valerie Ruelas
Department/division/center/school in which the project is based
- CHLA - Endocrinology and Community Health Outcomes and Intervention Research Program
Primary institution in which this project is based
- Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)
- University of Southern California - Keck School of Medicine (USC - HSC)
- LA County - Department of Health Services / Public Health (LAC - DHS / DPH)
Name and email address for the Project Director / Manager, or person responsible for overseeing the day-to-day activities of this project
If we were to request additional information about this project, pelase provide the name of the person to contact and his/her email address
- Project Director / Manager listed above
Are there any Co-Investigators on this project?
Please name all Co-Investigators and their institutional affiliation
- Co-Investigator - Institutional affiliation
- Ellen Iverson CHLA
- Co-Investigator - Institutional affiliation
- Michele Kipke CHLA
- Co-Investigator - Institutional affiliation
- Anne Peters USC-HSC
Which, if any, of the following institutions are you partnering with for this project?
- Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)
- University of Southern California - Keck School of Medicine (USC - HSC)
- Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC)
- LA County - Department of Health Services / Public Health (LAC - DHS / DPH)
For each partner institution listed, please indicate the specific department / division / institute / center with which you are partnering
- Endocrinology - CHLA, USC/HSC
LAC-DHS -- Humphrey and Roybal Diabetes Clinics
LAC-DPH -- South LA Clinic
KPSC -- Kaiser Foundation
Are you collaborating with any other academic, clinical or community organizations on this project?
List any academic, clinical and / or community organizations with which you are collaborating. Please include each partner organization's location
- Organization and Location (city and state)
Which institutional IRBs have reviewed and approved this project?
- Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)
- USC - Health Sciences
Which of the following best characterizes the agency(ies) funding this project? (IF THIS IS A SUBCONTRACT, PLEASE IDENTIFY THE CORE FUNDING SOURCE, e.g., NIH, CDC, etc.)
What month and year does / did funding begin?
What month and year does/did funding end?
- Month: December
- Year: 2009
Which of the following best describes the project's thematic focus?
- Health and psychosocial outcomes
- Reducing healthcare disparities
- Health promotion/prevention
- Chronic illness/disability - treatment, co-morbidities and care, prevention and education, transition from pediatric to adult care
- Health policy
- Other (please specify)
In what context do your project activities (e.g. data collection) take place?
- Clinic or other ambulatory healthcare setting
- Social service agency/community-based organization
- Schools
- Other community (please specify)
How would you classify this project?
Please indicate which of the following best characterizes the type of research you are conducting?
- Behavioral/social research
- Community-based participatory research
- Intervention/service evaluation research
- Ethnographic research/medical anthropology
Which of the following best characterizes your study design?
What type of data collection methods are used?
- Data collected from existing dataset (secondary data collection/analysis)
- Surveys
- Focus groups
- Individual open-ended (qualitative) interviews
- Observational data collection
- Geo-spatial data collection/analysis
- Literature review/meta-analysis
Which services does your program provide?
- Individual/small group education
- Community education
- Community mobilization/advocacy
- Social marketing
- Other (please specify)
How many participants will be/were recruited to participate in your research or service program over the funding/study period?
Which of the following best describe the population this project targets?
Which of the following best describes the age groups this project targets?
Which of the following best describes the racial/ethnic characteristics of the project participants?
- Black/African American
- Latino/Hispanic
Please provide any additional characteristics of your project participants that are specific to the goals of the project, e.g., low-income, un-insured, incarcerated, pregnant/parenting teens, populations with disabilities, specific conditions, etc.
- Residents in South and East Los Angeles (zip codes 90022, 90063, 90002 and 90059)
Which of the following best describes the location(s) in which this project takes/took place?
In which LA County Service Planning Area (SPA) do/did your project activities take place?
- SPA 3 (San Gabriel Valley)
- SPA 6 (South)
- Other geographic boundaries (e.g., zip codes, cities, etc.)
In which locations outside LA County do your project activities take place?
Does this project have an advisory board?
How often does your advisory board meet?
Please indicate which of the following best describes the membership of this project's advisory board?
- Community advocates/leaders
- Community healthcare providers
- Community social service providers or educators
- Policy makers
- Members of the business community
- Others (please specify)
Which of the following best describe the type of guidance your advisory group provides for your project?
- Development of proposal
- Devleopment of research/service design
- Development of research/service materials, research tools, recruitment plans
- Feedback on research/service progress, once implemented
- Feedback on and interpretation of findings (if research)
- Development of dissemination strategies and content
In what ways, if any, has your project disseminated information about your project, including findings and lessons learned?
- Community conferences, workshops, town hall meetings
- Peer-reviewed publications
- Publications, newsletters, reports or briefs (NOT peer-reviewed journals)
- National/international conferences
- Presentations/in-service training to academic audiences
- Presentations/in-service training to clinical audience
- Presentations/in-service training to community social service providers and schools
Which dissemination activities do you/did you find to be most effective?
- Town hall meeting of resident in ELA, distribution of the community report (written for community residents), presentation to community leaders and CAB
How useful do you think a CTSI Research/Service Clearinghouse will be to the following audiences?
How likely are you to use the CTSI web-based clearinghouse?
How would you envision using a resource like the CTSI web-based clearinghouse?
- to identify others providing services and conducting research similar or related to ours; to inform policy; find potential collaborators/partners; improve programs and services; identify new practices in prevention/promotion
What specific information would you want in the CTSI web-based clearinghouse to maximize its utlility to you, other researchers, and representatives of the community?
- Cost of services (if applicable); community dissemination that are forthcoming; plans for sustainability; staffing necessary to make project possible
What would you like to see in terms of the CTSI web-based clearinghouse design and functionality that would maximize the clearinghouse's utility for you and others?
- Market the clearinghouse so all audiences know it is available; make it easy to update; make it easy to access (easy link, address, navigatability, no password unless warrented)
