The Associations Between Neighborhood Safety and Address Stability With HbA1c Levels Among Adults With Diabetes
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Background/Objective Non-medical variables such as neighborhoods and economic status impact health care management for patients with diabetes. This study aimed to discover which non-medical drivers of health factors (NMDOH) were associated with responses to a diabetes intervention among a sample of adults with diabetes who previously participated in a quality improvement program (QI) to improve diabetes outcomes. Methods This study included 666 participants from the QI program. We used retrospective HbA1c data from the program to categorize patients as responders (values reduced by ≥ 0.5% postintervention) or nonresponders (values reduced by < 0.5% postintervention). Data were collected from a public record NMDOH dataset between December 2023 and October 2024 and linked to each patient's demographic and clinical data in the electronic medical record. Participants with complete NMDOH and clinical/demographic data were analyzed (n=473). ANOVA and Fisher's exact tests examined differences in NMDOH factors between responders versus nonresponders. Results The mean age was 55.5 years, mean preintervention HbA1c was 9.0%, mean postintervention HbA1c was 8.3%, and mean change in HbA1c was −0.72%. Fifty-one percent (n=243) of patients were postintervention responders. We found that variables related to crime and address stability (frequency of address change) in the ‘neighborhood and built environment' domain were significantly associated with responses to the intervention. Conclusion Neighborhood crime and more frequent address changes appear to impact patients' responses to the diabetes QI intervention. Future interventions should include social support navigators to identify and address neighborhood stressors and socioeconomic barriers that may impact patient outcomes.
Source: AACE Endocrinology and Diabetes
Authors: Dove-Anna Johnson, Owusua Yamoah, Yashashvi Raghuwanshi, Tyler Barnett, Julia E. Blanchette, Betul Hatipoglu
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7101400207