Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute receives a number of grants to support our research. In 2015 and 2016, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded the following three research grants:
Dulce Digital-Me: A mobile health approach for underserved hispanics with diabetes
The NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded $2.9M – the largest NIH award to Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute to date – to study Dulce Digital-Me (DD-Me), an innovative approach to helping Hispanics with diabetes better manage their disease. In addition to having a higher rate of diabetes, Hispanics tend to have more diabetes-related complications, require more costly medical care, and have a lower quality of life than non-Hispanics with diabetes.
DD-Me offers patients a number of tools to help them manage their diabetes day-to-day and improve their health, including educational text messaging, wireless blood glucose and medication monitoring, diet and exercise assessments, and personalized feedback and goal-setting. This study compares DD-Me with the Whittier’s successful Dulce Digital model, which has patients monitor and report their own blood glucose values and sends them educational text messages to help them care for their diabetes.
A total of 414 Hispanic patients will be studied for 12 months each to evaluate changes in their blood glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure, and lifestyle. DD-Me is being conducted in conjunction with San Diego State University, Department of Psychology, UC San Diego, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, and Neighborhood Healthcare. If DD-Me proves to be successful, it may significantly affect the health of Hispanics and, eventually, other higher-risk populations.
MAC Trial: Medical Assistant Health Coaching for diabetes in diverse care settings
In 2015, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH/NIDDK) granted Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute $2.1 million to fund the MAC Trial, which is studying an innovative team care approach that trains medical assistants (MAs) to provide health coaching to patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes.
The goals include improving diabetes self-management and clinical outcomes, such as blood glucose levels, cholesterol and blood pressure. The study focuses on a diverse group of primary care patients from Scripps Health and Neighborhood Healthcare in San Diego.
Mi Puente: “My Bridge” to better cardiometabolic health and well-being
Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute also received a $2.4 million study grant from the NIH’s National Institute of Nursing Research in 2015 to evaluate Mi Puente, a program at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista that uses a “nurse + volunteer” team approach to help Hispanic patients with multiple chronic diseases reduce their hospitalizations and improve their day-to-day health and quality of life.
