Peer-led care (PC) for Diabetes

The prevalence of obesity and diabetes in older adults is increasing. Because older adults are often portrayed as less likely to change long-standing health behaviors, health promotion in this age group has lagged behind others. In fact, little attention has been given to the importance of diabetes prevention in community-dwelling older adults through the implementation of programs that promote healthy nutrition, increase physical activity and improve self-management. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), which demonstrated the benefit of modest weight loss on the reduction of diabetes risk (58% overall reduction with a 71% reduction in the older population), has yet to be translated into widespread public health practice. The overall objective of this protocol is to implement evidence-informed, innovative interventions to increase adoption of findings from comparative effectiveness research (CER) for diabetes management and prevention in South Florida older veterans. Specifically, the proposed study will test the hypothesis that Peer-led Care alone (PC), or activated by technology (TechnAlert-Peer or TAP), is superior to traditional methods of information dissemination (Usual Care or UC) for adoption of CER on prevention and management of diabetes, leading to better self-efficacy and clinical outcomes. The investigators will conduct a 12-month randomized controlled trial in older veterans with prediabetes and diabetes participating in one of the Healthy Aging Regional Collaborative programs. Primary outcomes include changes in self-efficacy, weight, and hemoglobin A1c. Secondary outcomes include changes in blood pressure, lipids, physical function, quality of life, and health care utilization and the evaluation of potential racial/ethnic disparities in the process of adoption of CER for prevention and management of diabetes. This study is expected to accelerate the implementation of CER evidence for diabetes prevention, addressing health and economic challenges in the care of overweight and obese veterans.