Project Summary
Diabetes and hypertension frequently coexist, with approximately 50 percent of individuals diagnosed with diabetes having a dual diagnosis. The prevalence of these diseases is much higher in low-income and racial/ethnic minority patients. Poor patient self-care and management often contributes to excess morbidity and mortality. Mobile health approaches may be particularly useful for patient self-management given the common use of smartphones to access the Internet. Therefore, mobile health is an increasingly important tool that requires community input for meaningful research questions to be developed that serve our patients.
The purpose of this project is to form a collaborative of patients, community leaders, and healthcare professionals in the Piedmont region of North Carolina (Durham and Forsyth counties) who will be engaged to establish connections for our follow-on PCOR research initiatives related to mobile health and chronic disease management. Specifically, we will form a community collaborative of those who represent 1) neighborhood community residents/patients and leaders; 2) academic center faculty; and 3) nonprofit, health-related, and corporate entity representatives. The advisory board will conduct periodic listening sessions with the broader community in order to build capacity for the collaborative and discuss viewpoints. As part of the community outreach, an online resource will be established that connects the community, and reports the feedback on potential questions deemed important related to mobile health priorities for hypertension and diabetes management for planning of a future PCOR application.