Elizabeth L. Tung

Linking Community Resources in Diabetes Care: a Role for Technology?

Designing and implementing effective lifestyle modification strategies remains one of the great challenges in diabetes care. Historically, programs have focused on individual behavior change with little or no attempt to integrate change within the broader social framework or community context. However, these contextual factors have been shown to be associated with poor diabetes outcomes, particularly in low-income minority populations. Recent evidence suggests that one way to address these disparities is to match patient needs to existing community resources. Not only does this position patients to more quickly adapt behavior in a practical way, but this also refers patients back to their local communities where a support mechanism is in place to sustain healthy behavior. Technology offers a new and promising platform for connecting patients to meaningful resources (also referred to as “assets”). This paper summarizes several noteworthy innovations that use technology as a practical bridge between healthcare and community-based resources that promote diabetes self-care.

Social Disorder in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: Building on Race, Place, and Poverty

The recent resurgence of social and civic disquiet in the USA has contributed to increasing recognition that social conditions are meaningfully connected to disease and death. As a “lifestyle disease,” control of diabetes requires modifications to daily activities, including healthy dietary practices, regular physical activity, and adherence to treatment regimens. One’s ability to develop the healthy practices necessary to prevent or control type 2 diabetes may be influenced by a context of social disorder, the disruptive social and economic conditions that influence daily activity and, consequently, health status. In this paper, we report on our narrative review of the literature that explores the associations between social disorder and diabetes-related health outcomes within vulnerable communities. We also propose a multilevel ecosocial model for conceptualizing social disorder, specifically focusing on its role in racial disparities and its pathways to mediating diabetes outcomes.

Spatial Context and Health Inequity: Reconfiguring Race, Place, and Poverty.

Intimate connections among race, place, and poverty are increasingly featured in the health disparities literature. However, few models exist that can guide our understanding of these interconnections. We build on the Chicago School of Sociology’s contributions in urban research and one of its contemporary elaborations, often described as the “neighborhood effects approach,” to propose a three-axis model of health inequity. This model, in alignment with Chicago School theory, postulates a dynamic and adaptive relationship between spatial context and health inequity. Compositional axes of race and poverty form the foundation of the model. These compositional axes then intersect with a third axis of place to compose the built and social environment planes. We develop this model to provide conceptual guidance for clinical, policy, and public health researchers who aim to examine how these three features, taken together, have important implications for urban health.

Adult BMI and Access to Built Environment Resources in a High-Poverty, Urban Geography

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between BMI and access to built environment resources in a high-poverty, urban geography. METHODS Participants (aged ≥35 years) were surveyed between November 2012 and July 2013 to examine access to common health-enabling resources (grocers, outpatient providers, pharmacies, places of worship, and physical activity resources). Survey data were linked to a contemporaneous census of built resources. Associations between BMI and access to resources (potential and realized) were examined using independent t-tests and multiple linear regression. Data analysis was conducted in 2014-2015. RESULTS Median age was 53.8 years (N=267, 62% cooperation rate). Obesity (BMI ≥30) prevalence was 54.9%. BMI was not associated with potential access to resources located nearest to home. Nearly all participants (98.1%) bypassed at least one nearby resource type; half bypassed nearby grocers (realized access >1 mile from home). Bypassing grocers was associated with a higher BMI (p=0.03). Each additional mile traveled from home to a grocer was associated with a 0.9-higher BMI (95% CI=0.4, 1.3). Quality and affordability were common reasons for bypassing resources. CONCLUSIONS Despite potential access to grocers in a high-poverty, urban region, half of participants bypassed nearby grocers to access food. Bypassing grocers was associated with a higher BMI.

Neighborhood crime and access to health-enabling resources in Chicago

Neighborhood crime may be an important social determinant of health in many high-poverty, urban communities, yet little is known about its relationship with access to health-enabling resources. We recruited an address-based probability sample of 267 participants (ages ≥35 years) on Chicagos South Side between 2012 and 2013. Participants were queried about their perceptions of neighborhood safety and prior experiences of neighborhood crime. Survey data were paired to a comprehensive, directly-observed census of the built environment on the South Side of Chicago. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine access to health-enabling resources (potential and realized access) as a function of neighborhood crime (self-reported neighborhood safety and prior experience of theft or property crime), adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported health status. Low potential access was defined as a resident having nearest resources >1 mile from home; poor realized access was defined as bypassing nearby potential resources to use resources >1 mile from home. Poor neighborhood safety was associated with low potential access to large grocery stores (AOR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.04, 2.87), pharmacies (AOR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.33, 3.77), and fitness resources (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.15, 3.24), but not small grocery stores. Any prior experience of neighborhood crime was associated with higher adjusted odds of bypassing nearby pharmacies (AOR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.11, 12.87). Neighborhood crime may be associated with important barriers to accessing health-enabling resources in urban communities with high rates of crime.

Police‐Recorded Crime and Disparities in Obesity and Blood Pressure Status in Chicago

Background The purpose of this study was to examine associations between several types of police‐recorded crime (violent, nonviolent, and homicide) and cardiometabolic health (obesity and elevated blood pressure [BP]), and to determine if associations were modified by age and sex. Methods and Results We analyzed cross‐sectional data (N=14 799 patients) from 3 primary care clinics at an academic medical center in Chicago, IL. Patient‐level health data were obtained from the electronic health record (June 1, 2014–May 31, 2015), including body mass index and BP, and linked to the City of Chicago Police Data Portal. Geocoded crime counts were aggregated to census tract and calculated as the annual crime rate per 1000 population. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess obesity and BP status as a function of crime rate quartile, controlling for patient, clinic, and neighborhood characteristics. Median violent crime rates in each quartile ranged from 15 to 84 per 1000 population. Median age was 56 years (interquartile range, 38–72 years); 42% of patients were obese and 33% had elevated BP. Compared with patients living in the lowest quartile, patients living in the highest quartile for violent crime had 53% higher adjusted odds of obesity (95% confidence interval, 1.15–2.03) and 25% higher adjusted odds of elevated BP (95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.56). In subanalyses examining homicide, a relatively rare event, exposure was not associated with obesity and was inconsistently associated with elevated BP. Conclusions In a densely populated, high‐poverty region in Chicago, recurrent exposure to high rates of violent crime was consistently associated with obesity and elevated BP, but rare exposure to homicide was not.

Glycemic Control in Nonpregnant Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

of the Clinical Problem In the United States, type 2 diabetes affects 30 million people and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality.1 Glycemic control has been shown to reduce diabetes complications, particularly for microvascular disease.2,3 However, increasing recognition of adverse events due to intensive diabetes treatments has prompted major disagreements about optimal glycemic targets.

Cross-Sector Collaboration in the High-Poverty Setting: Qualitative Results from a Community-Based Diabetes Intervention

OBJECTIVE To characterize the motivations of stakeholders from diverse sectors who engaged in cross-sector collaboration with an academic medical center. DATA SOURCE Primary qualitative data (2014-2015) were collected from 22 organizations involved in a cross-sector diabetes intervention on the South Side of Chicago. STUDY DESIGN In-depth, semistructured interviews; participants included leaders from all stakeholder organization types (e.g., businesses, community development, faith-based) involved in the intervention. DATA COLLECTION METHODS Data were transcribed verbatim from audio and video recordings. Analysis was conducted using the constant comparison method, derived from grounded theory. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS All stakeholders described collaboration as an opportunity to promote community health in vulnerable populations. Among diverse motivations across organization types, stakeholders described collaboration as an opportunity for: financial support, brand enhancement, access to specialized skills or knowledge, professional networking, and health care system involvement in community-based efforts. Based on our findings, we propose a framework for implementing a working knowledge of stakeholder motivations to facilitate effective cross-sector collaboration. CONCLUSIONS We identified several factors that motivated collaboration across diverse sectors with health care systems to promote health in a high-poverty, urban setting. Understanding these motivations will be foundational to optimizing meaningful cross-sector collaboration and improving diabetes outcomes in the nations most vulnerable communities.