Increasing Diabetes Screening in a Low Socioeconomic Population

Introduction: In 2021, 38.4 million Americans had diabetes. Of the 38.4 million, 8.7 million were undiagnosed. It is crucial to identify diabetes as it can increase the risk of mortality for either sex and at any age. The Volunteer Care Clinic (VCC) is a free clinic for patients who are uninsured and low-income and for acute complaints only and because the VCC is an acute care clinic, screenings had not historically been performed routinely. Because of the diminished medical access for the majority of this population, routine screening for diabetes when a patient visits the clinic would help identify diabetes when it would otherwise go undiagnosed and untreated. Methods: Criteria were created to determine which patients should have an A1c drawn. VCC staff were trained on the screening protocol. A1c screening protocol was implemented into the check-in process, and data were inputted into the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR). Results: In May, June, and July of 2024, the clinic screened 274 patients. Of those patients, 108 patients were identified to have prediabetes or diabetes. Discussion: Diabetes impacts the nursing field because it leads to many health risks and complications. Being aware of a patient’s disease status would assist with diabetes management and aid in mitigating possible complications. Upon screening, 39% of patients were identified to have diabetes or prediabetes and referred to a low-income primary care clinic. Improvement in identifying diabetes, facilitating its management, and reducing disease-related mortality contributes to global health, even if it is in our local community.