Session Description
Diabetes affects thirty-seven million Americans but disproportionately impacts those from racial and ethnic minoritized communities; with an even greater burden on those of low educational status or socio-economic status. Such individuals have poorer health outcomes including diabetes complications (i.e., blindness, lower extremity amputation), hospitalizations, and mortality, due to disparities in both the diagnosis and management of diabetes. To overcome such barriers, there is a responsibility of individuals, health systems, insurance organizations, and policy makers to address the root causes of this inequitable care through research and quality improvement projects. Factors such as discrimination, structural racism, provider bias, and social determinants of health have been implicated in health inequity as they can individually and collectively impact health outcomes. Assessing and understanding the impact of these variables must be addressed to close these diabetes disparity gaps for those who identify as racial/ethnic minorities.