Mapping the Diabetes Intervention System of the KC Metro Region

The School of Medicine and the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, in collaboration with the Kansas City chapter of the American Diabetes Association, undertook this research project to systematically gather, organize, and report information about all of the organizations and programs serving the six most-populous counties of the Kansas City metro region that work to address some facet of the significant public health problem of diabetes.  Dr. Betty Drees of the UMKC School of Medicine, working with the regional chapter of the American Diabetes Association and a regional advisory council of health leaders (and with funding from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City), invited the Center to partner in this effort to “map” the breadth, scope, and nature of the “system” in the Kansas City metro region to gain greater insight into the scope and nature of the work underway to address the challenge of preventing and treating diabetes.  The goal of the project was to collect data about and create a research-based integrative regional database and map of all of the programs and agencies that perform functions or provide services that are intended to advance the cause of prevention and treatment of diabetes so both providers and health system planners would have a more comprehensive perspective of what services were being provided and by whom, as well as whether there were gaps in services being provided.  The results of this work were reported at a summit meeting of diabetes health care leaders, and the center and the UMKC Medical School continue to maintain the data base until it is ready to hand off to another community host to maintain.