The Appalachian Rural Health Institute (ARHI) recently received a $200,000 grant under the three-part Appalachian Diabetes Initiative, which was announced by Gov. Bob Taft. The three-part initiative was for $460,000, which comes from Ohio’s master tobacco settlement funds, and is part of Taft’s Healthy Ohioans Initiative.

The Appalachian Diabetes Initiative focuses on heightening awareness and improving care and self-management, with the aim of preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes and its related complications. The three-part grant will be used to establish and bolster diabetes treatment and education services in 11 Appalachian counties.

“Too many people in Ohio’s Appalachian counties are developing Type II diabetes. And too many people,” says Taft, “including many who don’t even know they have diabetes, are not receiving the tools and information they need.”

The populations of the Appalachian counties have disproportionate numbers of Ohioans with diabetes. According to the Ohio Department of Health, approximately 110,000 Ohioans in Appalachian counties have been diagnosed with diabetes and an additional 30,000 remain undiagnosed.

These counties report the highest poverty rates in the state, and studies show that people with lower levels of income and education are stricken with diabetes at much higher rates, says Frank Schwartz, M.D., director of ARHI’s Diabetes/Endocrine Center. The center was established in 2003 to spearhead the university’s diabetes research, clinical training and treatment, and educational outreach efforts in Southeastern Ohio under the larger umbrella of ARHI.

“Within Appalachia there are clusters of counties that are at risk; they tend to be more devastated economically and have lower group socioeconomic status,” says Schwartz.

Although the total diabetes picture in Appalachia doesn’t seem as critical if all Appalachian counties are lumped together, he says, “when you look at specific counties you find populations at real risk.”

“For instance, Vinton County has a 12.8 percent prevalence, which approaches what you see in African Americans and Hispanics, who are affected more by diabetes than the majority population,” says Schwartz, who is a member of the advisory board of the Ohio Department of Health’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Program. The program is a joint project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

About half of the $200,000 will be used to complete surveys in the 11-county region. Four counties have been surveyed, he says.

“The other $100,000 will be used for more screening, to increase our presence and identity and, hopefully, to recruit county health leaders — those in health departments, school systems, etc. — who can help us build and implement our overall diabetes initiative outreach plans.” Schwartz adds that the CDC sees the center’s initiative potentially as a model for a 13-state program. 

“And it’s possible that the grant could be refunded next year. The funding will help coordinate and collaborate with partners — old and new — of our existing diabetes initiative for Southeastern Ohio.”

“The (Appalachian Diabetes) initiatives,” says Ohio Department of Health Director J. Nick Baird, M.D., “will have a great impact on helping residents self-manage their diabetes, prevent related complications and increase the number of Healthy Ohioans across the Appalachian region.”