Diabetes (HSM)

This course will focus on Type 2 Diabetes. As a Community Health Worker, it is important to understand some of the risk factors your patients may have, address the barriers that your diabetes patients currently face, and be able to connect your patients to the resources and local support programs available to them. An estimated number of 30.3 Million people have diabetes in the U.S. This number is growing at an increasing rate of 1.7 million new cases each year. Approximately 92 – 95% of those diagnosed with diabetes have Type 2 Diabetes.

In 2015, it was estimated that 84.1 million people had prediabetes, which is equal to one third of our population.  Prediabetes is defined as being higher than normal blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be considered Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the US, but recently its been discovered that the contribution of diabetes to mortality in the US has been severely understated and may be as high as the third leading cause of death behind cancer and heart disease.  In 2012, Diabetes cost the US $245 billion in medical costs as well as indirect costs related to job loss and disability.

Reminder:  Students are encouraged to complete this module within two weeks. HSM access is for six months. A Certificate of Completion can be printed after successful completion of the course.