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Diabetes Prevention & Control Branch
Diabetes — also known as diabetes mellitus — affects the way the body uses blood sugar or glucose. Diabetes is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease as it damages blood vessels, including the coronary arteries. Up to 75% percent of those with diabetes develop heart and blood vessel diseases, including stroke.
N.C. Diabetes Advisory Council
Several state organizations continue to play an active role in improving the quality of care for patients with diabetes. The mission of the Diabetes Advisory Council is to reduce the devastation of diabetes through leadership, communication and community involvement.
The N.C. Diabetes Advisory Council (DAC), appointed by the State Health Director was created to support efforts addressing the burden of diabetes in North Carolina by increasing public awareness, educating physicians, raising awareness among consumers, engaging stakeholders, and leveraging resources. In 1999, the DAC released the Patterns of Care Guidelines for Diabetes Care in North Carolina to assist primary care physicians and health care providers to improve the quality of diabetes care in clinical and educational settings. Over the last year, the DAC and DPCP have worked diligently to assess the diabetes public health system in North Carolina in relation to the ten Essential Public Health Services. Based on this assessment, seven key priorities were established and formed the based for development of a new strategic plan to be published in 2005. Major themes include social marketing, environmental and policy change, and health systems change.
North Carolina Chronic Disease Collaborative
Building on existing services and addressing the need for systems-level change to improve the quality of care in health care settings, Chronic Disease Collaboratives were developed. The U.S. Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) established a system to deliver primary care to patients in federally qualified Community Health Care Centers (FQHC) based on the models developed by the Institute for Health Care Improvement and the MacColl Institute for Health Care Innovation at the Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative. In 2002, funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the N.C. Diabetes Prevention and Control Program and a partnership with the N.C. Primary Health Care Association led to the development of the N.C. Diabetes Collaboratives, to improve the quality of diabetes care in the state by assisting physician teams to change the way they deliver care.
The HDSP program played an active role in the N.C. Diabetes Collaborative. The HDSP program is represented on the Collaborative’s Lead Planning Team, the Advisory Board, and the faculty for the learning sessions and has supported the transition of the N.C. Diabetes Collaborative to a comprehensive Chronic Disease Collaborative, starting with the addition of a cardiovascular disease track in 2004.
Last Updated 09/18/06
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