Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes Care and Impact of Vendor-Based Disease Management Programs (Diabetes Care)

Authors studied the effectiveness of a vendor’s telephone-based diabetes disease management program delivered over three years to Medi-Cal diabetes patients ages 22 to 75 years in Los Angeles and Alameda counties. Three outcomes were measured: receipt of at least one hemoglobin A1C test, LDL-cholesterol test, and retinal examination each year. Estimations were modeled after analyzing Medi-Cal claims data for a group of beneficiaries in the two intervention counties (2,933 people) and eight control countires (2,988 people) in from September 2005 through August 2010.

Authors found racial/ethnic disparities in the receipt of all three kinds of testing in interventions counties before the program, as well as after the vendor’s telephone-based intervention program, particularly for African Americans and Latinos. Disparity decreased among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders after intervention. The control group did not have similar disparities.  

Publication Authors:

• Ying-Ying Meng, DrPH
• Allison L. Diamant, MD, MSHS
• Jenna Jones, MPH
• Wenjiao Lin, MS
• Xiao Chen, PhD
• Shang-Hua Wu, MS
• Nadereh Pourat, PhD
• Dylan H. Roby, PhD
• Gerald F. Kominski, Ph.D.