Racial disparities in diabetes education referral
Racial disparity exists for receiving
diabetes education referral
According
to research published in The Diabetes
Educator, black patients with pre-diabetes and diabetes are more likely to
be given an education referral than white patients (14.8% vs. 10%; P <
.0001). A retrospective cross-sectional
study was conducted on almost 4,000 patients ages 14-89 from 2008 to 2013 to
determine diabetes education referrals based upon race. Black patients had
higher rates of diabetes than pre-diabetes (75.8% and 24.2%), while white
patients had higher rates of pre-diabetes than diabetes (62.3% and 37.7%).
Overall, patients with diabetes were more likely to receive referrals than
those with pre-diabetes.
This
study is important for clinical dietitians because every patient should be
receiving referrals for diabetes education, regardless of race. Additionally,
overall referral rates are too low, especially for pre-diabetes. Providing
referrals for patients with pre-diabetes gives them the opportunity to reverse
their condition and prevent the onset of diabetes.
-ER
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