The EDEV core has committed all of its resources to conduct a collaborative project with the Wayne State University Diabetes Program and the Metro Medical Group to 1) document the care received by urban African-Americans with diabetes, 2) define the educational and psychosocial needs of these patients, and 3) implement strategies to meet the identified needs and improve the care for this group of patients. The project will employ two different data collection methods. Care practices of patients in the Wayne State Diabetes Program and the Metro Medical Group will be documented by instruments/procedures that have been developed and validated during the 15-year history of the MDRTC (new scales and norms will be developed for this population). Focus groups composed of patients from the same clinics will be used to expand the database to include patient's knowledge of, attitudes toward, and self-care practices used to treat their disease. The results of the two data collection efforts (care practices and education/attitudes) will be subjected to a consensus process that will result in recommendations for care and educational interventions to meet the defined patient needs. Years one and two will be devoted to data collection and the development of consensus. Educational interventions will be developed, implemented and pilot-tested in years three and four. Program evaluation of the process and outcomes of the study will be conducted throughout the five years of the study. During the fifth year dissemination strategies will be used to translate the process and findings tested in this study to other institutions.
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