Mil Familias Data Analysis and Communication: Impact of Diabetes in the Latino Community
About the Project
Almost 1 in 2 Latino adults are at risk of type 2 diabetes. Recent data from the CDC shows that diabetes rates are twice as high for Latinos of Mexican heritage compared with Whites.
SDRI has been operating the Mil Familias project, which focuses on the impact of diabetes in the Latino community. The vision of the Mil Familias Program is to reduce dramatically the burden of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke among Latino families in the United States. Bilingual, specially trained community health workers who are knowledgeable about type 2 diabetes (Especialistas) have interacted with families to collect data, answer questions, and connect families to the appropriate resources. Every year for 10 years, more than 100 variables are measured for each family member using surveys, physical exams, lab tests, and wearable activity monitors. The information that families contribute are then placed in a database about Latino health, behavior, lifestyle, and environment. Based on the data, Mil Familias plans to intervene in the areas of education, prevention, technology, policy, treatment, and more.
This project asks, which factors out of biology, behavior, psychology, society/environment are causing the highest amount of disproportionate burden in the Latino/Latina community of type 2 diabetes in mild (>7%) and severe (>9%) cases respectively?
Student Team
- Zoe Holzer
- Lawrence Lin
- Vanessa Salgado Zavaleta
- Emily San Juan
- Jake Simon
Mentors
- Namino Glantz, Sponsor
- David Kerr, Sponsor
- Jiajing Zheng, TA
- Alex Franks, Faculty
Presentation
About SDRI and Mil Familias
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI), located in Santa Barbara, California, is dedicated to improving the lives of people impacted by diabetes through research, education, and care. SDRI has been at the forefront of helping to improve the lives of people living with diabetes since 1944 through its research. SDRI has also supported newly diagnosed diabetic patients and those who have lived with diabetes for a long period of time by providing classes ranging from nutrition, exercise, and healthy living. Furthermore, SDRI cares for people with diabetes in specialized areas such as pediatrics and diabetes during pregnancy.
Mil Familias is an innovative ten-year initiative to improve the lives of Latino families affected by diabetes through research, education, and care. This initiative is led by the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute and supported by a diverse consortium of allies from around the nation.
The Mil Familias strategy is to understand why diabetes is so common among Latino families, and then establish education, prevention, and treatment interventions to reverse the upward trend of this disease. We are engaging 1,000 Latino families from the Central Coast of California in this journey, supported by especialistas, data, interventions, and allies along the way.
