Thirteen percent of people in Georgia have diabetes. Several of those don’t even know they have it. And in the African-American community, the numbers are even worse. But the Mercer University School of Medicine hopes to make big dent in those numbers. The Mercer University School of Medicine will use a 3-million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health to partner with local African-American Churches and the Medical Center of Central Georgia.
The community partnership will allow them to identify people at risk for diabetes in local churches. Dr. John Bolstri is one of the researchers. He says they have been using a similar program since 2004 and it seems to be very effective.
“Basically we tracked blood sugar and blood pressure and weight for a year. And what we found was in all our churches that partnered with us the average blood pressure and blood sugar and weight all decreased after the end of the program.”
Bolstri says researchers discovered churches are a great way to reach people who do not make regular visits to the doctor or get health screenings.
The community partnership will allow them to identify people at risk for diabetes in local churches. Dr. John Bolstri is one of the researchers. He says they have been using a similar program since 2004 and it seems to be very effective.
“Basically we tracked blood sugar and blood pressure and weight for a year. And what we found was in all our churches that partnered with us the average blood pressure and blood sugar and weight all decreased after the end of the program.”
Bolstri says researchers discovered churches are a great way to reach people who do not make regular visits to the doctor or get health screenings.
