Improving Diabetes Care in Midwest Community Health Centers With the Health Disparities Collaborative (original) (raw)

OBJECTIVE—To evaluate the Diabetes Health Disparities Collaborative, an initiative by the Bureau of Primary Health Care to reduce health disparities and improve the quality of diabetes care in community health centers. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—One year before- after trial. Beginning in 1998, 19 Midwestern health centers undertook a diabetes quality improvement initiative based on a model including rapid Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles from the continuous quality improvement field; a Chronic Care Model emphasizing patient self-management, delivery system redesign, decision support, clinical information systems, leadership, health system organization, and community outreach; and collaborative learning sessions. We reviewed charts of 969 random adults for American Diabetes Association standards, surveyed 79 diabetes quality improvement team members, and performed qualitative interviews. RESULTS—The performance of several key processes of care assessed by chart review increased, including r...