UTEP Grant to Expand Diabetes Education for Men
Last Updated on June 14, 2021 at 12:00 AM
Originally published June 14, 2021
By UC Staff
UTEP Communications
EL PASO, Texas — The University of Texas at El Paso is launching an initiative to offer health care providers in El Paso County the opportunity to help men with diabetes obtain the tools they need to manage their disease as part of Men’s Health Month in June and Father’s Day on June 20, 2021.
Over the next two years, organizers of UTEP’s Diabetes Garage, a diabetes self-management program for men, will offer health care organizations and providers including physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and dietitians a $1,100 grant to become certified in Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) services. UTEP will cover the $100 cost to existing programs that want to add an educational site.
Funding for the grants is provided by a $240,000 grant to UTEP from the Texas Department of State Health Services through the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to expand Diabetes Garage services.
Launched in 2018, the Diabetes Garage applies automotive concepts to help men learn how to manage their disease. Free workshops will be offered online from Harlingen and San Antonio, Texas, in July 2021. The program will host online workshops from El Paso in August 2021.
Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support services is a cost-effective tool provided by the American Diabetes Association and the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists to teach people with diabetes how to take the best care of themselves.
“Research shows that people who attend DSMES programs have better diabetes management outcomes compared to those who do not receive diabetes management education,” said Jeannie Belinda Concha, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, and Diabetes Garage director. “Through this grant, the DSMES application fee will be covered for organizations interested applying for DSMES accreditation or recognition.”
Concha will host two free webinars titled, “Improve Diabetes Patient Outcomes and Get Paid for It!” for health care professionals who are interested in becoming DSMES providers. The first webinar will be at 10 a.m. (MST) Tuesday, June 15, 2021. ADA representatives will explain the Education Recognition Program (ERP) application process, benefits of certification, and answer questions about becoming an ADA-recognized DSMES provider. Registration is available here.
The second webinar will be at 1 p.m. (MST) Thursday, June 17, 2021. ADCES specialists will present on the Diabetes Education Accreditation Program (DEAP) application process, benefits of certification, and answer questions about becoming an ADCES-accredited DSMES provider. Registration is available here.
Hispanic men are most at risk for diabetes and for developing chronic health problems associated with the disease such as heart disease and stroke. This notion offers UTEP a prime opportunity to deepen its partnerships with health care providers to meet the region’s needs for talent and advance collaborative research.
Classes are offered by certified diabetes care and education specialist educators.
To date, 98 men have participated in the program, which boasts an 83% retention rate.
The ADA recently recognized Concha with the Young Investigators Award for her abstract “The Diabetes Garage: Using Automotive Maintenance Analogies to Engage Mexican-American Men to Participate in a Diabetes Self-Management and Education Program.” The award will be presented at the 81st annual ADA’s Scientific Sessions on June 26, 2021.
For more information on the Diabetes Garage, visit www.diabetesgarage.org/
