CVS Health, ADA Expand Diabetes Program Focused on Health Equity

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and CVS Health today are expanding Project Power, a program designed to increase health equity and eliminate disparities in diabetes diagnosis and treatment.

The innovative diabetes lifestyle change program will “raise diabetes awareness, help combat disparities in diagnosis among communities of color, and offer diabetes risk reduction education to people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes nationwide,” ADA said in a news release.¹

Project Power is a free program that uses an outcomes-based curriculum and was originally focused on educating children and teenagers at schools. With support from CVS Health, ADA is now rolling out programming for adults in order to deliver the same impact within families.

Photo courtesy of the American Diabetes Association

The program will educate the public on diabetes and remove barriers to treatment—including destigmatizing diabetes as vwell as identifying and removing social determinants of health-related barriers, according to ADA.

“The goal of Project Power is to help increase health equity, eliminate disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, and build a future without type 2 diabetes,” said Chuck Henderson, CEO of ADA. “ADA’s health equity focus means empowering people of color who live with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes to manage their health and live better, fuller lives."

ADA has already had success with Project Power, including a September program focused on communities of color in Texas. The Project Power team implemented the program at Garland Independent School District, the second-largest district in Dallas County.

The diverse community includes 54% Hispanic/Latinx, 19% Black/African American, and 9% Asian population—with 67% of students experiencing economic disadvantages. Through Project Power, around 80 coaches were trained in their physical education class in August before the program started in September.

More than 22,000 students from 49 elementary schools are currently being impacted by participating in Project Power for children.

Although type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed, according to the 2022 National Diabetes Statistics Report-CDC, more than 37 million Americans have diabetes and another 96 million are living with prediabetes, a condition that puts them at risk for type 2 diabetes, according to ADA.

Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was highest among American Indians and Alaska Natives (14.5%), followed by non-Hispanic Black people (12.1%), people of Hispanic origin (11.8%), non-Hispanic Asians (9.5%), and non-Hispanic Whites (7.4%).

Reference

1. American Diabetes Association, CVS Health announce expansion of free lifestyle-change program to help address racial disparities in diabetes Diagnosis for adults with Type 2 Diabetes. News release. ADA. December 5, 2022. Accessed December 16, 2022. https://diabetes.org/newsroom/press-releases/2022/ADA-CVS-health-announce-expansion-free-lifestyle-change-program-help-address-racial-disparities-diabetes-dagnosis-adults-type-2-diabetes