Richland County Community Diabetes Project

The Richland County Community Diabetes Project was created to build community support for persons with Type 2 diabetes living in frontier Eastern Montana. During its first year the project piloted four projects including a Diabetes Education and Support Group, Diabetes Walking Clubs, a Diabetes Watcher Weight Loss Group, and a Community Diabetes Resources Book. In its second year of operation, the project created a formal diabetes education program at the local hospital, recruited community sites for free indoor walking, created a Diabetes Ambassador program, developed linkages with the local Literacy Volunteers of America Program and Migrant Health, and has developed plans to advocate for policy changes supporting chronic disease self management. Additional objectives of the program include (1) the development of a formal Diabetes Education Program linked to community based programs; (2) the implementation of the Diabetes Quality Care monitoring system in at least two health care provider offices; (3) expanding walking clubs to include additional indoor walking sites; (4) the development of collaborative relationships with the local Literacy Volunteers of America, Migrant Health Services, and area Indian Health Services; (5) the development of a workplace wellness program which facilitates diabetes self management friendly policy changes in the workplace; (6) advocating for insurance plan changes which provide incentives to persons participating in chronic disease self management programs; and (7) the development and implementation of a community wide walking assessment and campaign.

The goal of this project is to build community support for persons with Type 2 diabetes living in frontier Eastern Montana.

During its first year the project conducted focus groups with community members, persons with diabetes, and health care providers. The project also conducted screenings to help identify persons with diabetes or those at risk for diabetes. After the first year, an evaluation of the pilot programs was conducted and successful programs were continued.

By the end of its first 10 months of its implementation phase, the project has impacted the lives of at least 13% of the estimated local diabetic population.