New Study Aims to Reduce Diabetes Rates

Published: August 3, 2021

A new study developed by investigators at the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research (CHPPR) will determine the efficacy of the Sustainable Culturally Adapted Nutritious Diet Program (SCAN).

SCAN is a program developed by a team at CHPPR that works by incorporating a food incentive model into the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Though the DPP is a proven method of reducing diabetes incidence rates in underserved populations through intensive, individualized nutrition and exercise management, retention rates among participants remains low, leading to poorer long-term outcomes.

“In 2018, 88 million or 1 in 3 of the U.S. adult population had prediabetes, putting them at increased risk for developing diabetes in the future,” said William B. Perkison, MD, MPH, FACOEM Co-Investigator for the SCAN program. “Yet the vast majority of these cases are preventable.”

SCAN improves participant adherence to the DPP by targeting diverse, urban populations of patients diagnosed with pre-diabetes, then applying established theories of behavior change and culinary medicine.

 “By increasing participant confidence in preparing healthy, fresh produce and incentivizing them with food to stay in the program, we can increase the number of DPP sessions they attend,” said Dr. Perkison.  “There is ample evidence from previous studies that the more sessions participants attend, the more likely they are to not develop diabetes in the future.”

If the study is successful, SCAN has the potential to become an important component of the developing networks of DPP programs nationwide.

SCAN was developed as a part of the Improving the Health of Americans through Prevention and Management of Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke Project funded by the Texas Department of State Health Services DSHS.