Katrina Hedberg

Agreement between self-reported information and medical claims data on diagnosed diabetes in Oregon's Medicaid population.

Recent trends in Oregon indicated that diabetes is on the rise. Medicaid self-reported data estimated about 11 percent are affected by diabetes, which is twice the prevalence of the general population in Oregon. Little is known about the agreement between self-reported information and medical claims data in the Medicaid population. This study provides an opportunity to compare prevalence of diabetes when the estimates are computed from the two different data sources. A sample of 2,154 Medicaid adults in Oregon (18 to 64 years old) were identified in both the Medicaid claims and self-report survey. The result reported a strong agreement of diabetes definition between the Medicaid claim data and the self-reported survey.

Disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss practices: which adolescents are at highest risk?

Early diagnosis of unhealthy weight loss practices (UWLP) among adolescents improves treatment outcomes. Analysis of population-based school survey data in Oregon demonstrated that the 11.6% reporting UWLP were more likely to perceive themselves as overweight, depressed, and to have abused substances. Targeted screening of adolescents can help identify those with UWLP.

Mentorship and competencies for applied chronic disease epidemiology.

To understand the potential and establish a framework for mentoring as a method to develop professional competencies of state-level applied chronic disease epidemiologists, model mentorship programs were reviewed, specific competencies were identified, and competencies were then matched to essential public health services. Although few existing mentorship programs in public health were identified, common themes in other professional mentorship programs support the potential of mentoring as an effective means to develop capacity for applied chronic disease epidemiology. Proposed competencies for chronic disease epidemiologists in a mentorship program include planning, analysis, communication, basic public health, informatics and computer knowledge, and cultural diversity. Mentoring may constitute a viable strategy to build chronic disease epidemiology capacity, especially in public health agencies where resource and personnel system constraints limit opportunities to recruit and hire new staff.

Diabetes preventive care in Oregon's Medicaid population.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of diabetes in Oregons adult Medicaid population and to compare the level of diabetes-related preventive care with the states general population. Responses to telephone interviews conducted in 1999 among 2,770 randomly selected adult Medicaid beneficiaries and 7,229 Oregon residents were compared. Diabetes prevalence among adult Medicaid recipients (11.1% [95% Cl, 9.9% to 12.2%]) was more than twice that in the general population (4.7% [95% Cl, 4.2% to 5.3%]). During the year prior to the interview, adults with diabetes in the Medicaid and general populations reported performing the following preventive care, respectively: > or = 2 diabetes care visits (80%, 77%); foot examination (74%, 74%); dilated eye examination (73%, 68%); influenza vaccine (65%, 61%); self-monitored blood glucose daily (63%, 61%); pneumococcal vaccine (51%, 47%); regular aspirin use (48%, 53%); and awareness of Hemoglobin A1c (34%, 39%). Although the reported prevalence of diabetes in Oregons Medicaid population is high, the prevalence of diabetes preventive care activities was similar to the states general population. Nonetheless, specific services in both populations could be improved.