Diabetes Management and Prevention

Minorityhealth.hhs.gov: National Partnership for Action, Posted on 4/11/2012 by Irena McClain.

Irena McClain is the Associate Director at the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi (DFM). She joined the staff in 1994 and is active in the Minority Health Initiative and “Sweet Subject” School Diabetes Education programs at the DFM. She received an AB in Biology from Smith College and an MPH from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

We know that type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity are problems in our state. All of us living in Mississippi have seen the headlines- “Mississippi is the Heaviest State!” or “Mississippi is in Top Three for Diabetes!” It’s not a case of Mississippians ignoring their health. We find that people are thirsty for knowledge and want to do right by themselves and their families. We live in the information age, but sometimes making sense of all of the information online, in the paper or coming over the airwaves is difficult. And finding the time to do something proactive for our health seems almost impossible.

Too many in our state don’t understand the connection between obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, much less how to prevent complications from diabetes if they are already diagnosed. The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, through its partnership with the Institute for the Improvement of Minority Health and Health Disparities in the Delta Region (DRI), works actively in high-risk communities to reduce health disparities and improve lives through our educational and screening programs. We go to health fairs in minority and rural churches and communities, conducting blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, and discussing the results to help people stay healthy. We sponsor a statewide Diabetes Super Conference to educate the lay public, as well as an annual Continuing Medical Education (CME) meeting to ensure our health professionals have the knowledge they need to care of their patients with diabetes. Read More