Alameda County (CA) Public Health Department

Adaptive Diabetes Management and Education Program for People with Developmental Disabilities (ADMEPPDD)

Alameda County (CA) Public Health Department

Approximately 1,400,000 of adult Californians have been diagnosed with diabetes at a cost of more than $12 billion a year. Alameda County, located east of San Francisco, has a diverse population of almost 1.5 million, 60,000 of whom have Type 2 diabetes. However, Alameda County's diabetes program was aimed at the general population and did not address the learning and case management needs of people with developmental disabilities.

California's service system for people with developmental disabilities is delivered through regional centers, local nonprofit organizations under contract with the Department of Developmental Services. The Regional Center of East Bay serves around 4,100 adults in Alameda County; approximately 111 have been diagnosed with diabetes. Many of these individuals depend on direct care staff to assist them in controlling their diabetes and recognizing health problems as they arise. Many direct care staff have limited education and may not be knowledgeable about diabetes, meal planning, and recognizing potential problems associated with diabetes.

The ADMEPPDD serves individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in Alameda County and direct care staff who work with them. The program's curriculum covers the following topics:

Diabetes
Nutrition
Meal planning
Medications
Monitoring sugar
Physical activity
Coping with diabetes
Identifying potential complications

For more information, please contact:
Barbara Garcia
Developmental Disabilities Coordinator
Alameda County Public Health Department
Tel: (510) 267-3261
E-mail: Barbara.garcia@acgov.org

Update:
The project hired a registered dietician, with an extensive background in serving people with disabilities, to implement activities and classes on diabetes and nutrition-related issues for staff, individual consumers, and care providers.

Several outcomes of the Alameda County Adaptive Diabetes Program demonstrate its success:

A curriculum was developed for care provider training that offers credits and certification to those who participate;
More than 140 care providers were made aware of the issues of diabetes and disabilities; and
Forty-five consumers were trained and learned to make lifestyle changes.

Alameda County still employs several outreach methods, including presentations, monthly minutes and coordinator reports, an annual report, a Web site (www.acphd.org), and the continued actions of the Developmental Disabilities Council.

To sustain the program, Alameda County employed the dietician in the public health department diabetes program to enable her to include the disability community in her outreach efforts. She is also becoming a vendor with the state/local program that serves the needs of people with developmental disabilities.