Scripps Awarded Grant for Mobile Application to Improve Diabetes Outcomes in Low Income Latinos

The McKesson Foundation has awarded Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute a $250,000 grant. The research funds will be used to test the effectiveness of using a mobile health application to improve the management of diabetes in a recently diagnosed diabetic Latino population.


“This grant will allow us to test a simple texting approach to change behavior in the low income Latino population with diabetes,” said Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas, vice president, Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute. “This is one of the most difficult areas to make an impact, but if successful it can lead to dramatic improvements and outcomes in their care.”


The Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute was one of six esteemed institutions across the country to receive a Mobilizing for Health sm grant. The McKesson Foundation gave out a total $1.4 million to further the research on how mobile phones can be used to improve the lives of underserved populations suffering from chronic diseases.


The funded studies aim to provide a clearer understanding of how mobile phones can be used to improve health outcomes, and the study findings could indirectly impact millions of patients around the world.


“The Mobilizing for Health research grants allow us to increase the evidence base for mobile health interventions,” said Carrie Varoquiers, president of the McKesson Foundation. “The use of mobile phones in healthcare seems very promising, especially in low-income populations with chronic diseases, but we need to better understand what works before these interventions can be scaled.”


Each study will be completed by April 1, 2013, and all are designed to work within community health clinics serving low-income patients. Scripps is partnering locally with Neighborhood Healthcare to enroll 100 participants who will receive ongoing text messages for one year regarding medication management and behavior changes.


Other 2012 Mobilizing for Health grant awards winners are: Baystate Medical, Einstein University, General Hospital Corporation, Medic Mobile, and Vanderbilt University.


Since 2010, the McKesson Foundation has funded six additional mobile health research studies in the United States.


About Scripps Health


Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is a $2.3 billion nonprofit community health system based in San Diego, Calif. Read more about Scripps.

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