Many people might not know that Latinos are almost twice as likely as Caucasians to have diabetes. What makes the situation worse is that all too often, language and cultural barriers prevent many Latinos from searching out effective diagnoses, treatment and management.
Pfizer Health Solutions, in partnership with The Bon Secours and Canterbury Partnership for Care, on Wednesday launched the “Amigos en Salud” (Friends in Health) program with a press conference at St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken.
According to Pfizer officials, Pfizer Health Solutions, with the assistance of Bon Secours, has developed a program that creates a partnership between newly diagnosed Latino diabetes patients, community health workers and medical providers.
Health professionals will go into local Hispanic communities and churches to find diabetes sufferers who might need more focused care and aren’t getting it because of the language barrier.
Rick Evans, vice president of Mission Services for Bon Secours, said, “When Pfizer Health Solutions first approached us, we knew our parish nurse program was the ideal place to deploy this program since it is one of our key outreach methods for improving community health. Because our parish nurse sites are overwhelmingly in Hispanic neighborhoods, Pfizer saw this as an innovated model for launching the Amigos program.”
The “Amigos en Salud” program’s mission statement reads, “As the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, effective solutions for helping increase access to health care and education, along with culturally relevant strategies for working with Latinos, are critical to effectively reducing the morbidity, mortality and cost associated with caring for people with diabetes.”
According to Pfizer officials, it is difficult for anyone to maintain the long-term behavior change and monitoring required for diabetics to preserve their health. The Amigos en Salud program is designed to help patients, even at very low literacy levels, understand the disease, discover how to manage key stages of behavior change, take charge of their own health records, and work with a supportive community health worker who is familiar with diabetes.
According to hospital officials, approximately 200 Hudson County Hispanics will participate in the research pilot program. Community Health Workers, called “promotores” in this program, will go into the Hispanic community to aid in diabetes education. These promotores will provide the patients with coaching on how to live with diabetes and with materials about diabetes. All promotores have received basic training in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, nutrition, exercise, cultural health beliefs, family structure sensitivity, and teaching with low literacy materials.
Six percent
According to the Centers of Disease Control, nationally, 6 percent of all Latino Americans over the age of 20 have diabetes. This rises to 21 percent of all Latinos over 65. It is estimated that 27 percent of Hispanic deaths are related to diabetes complications. New Jersey Hispanics represent the largest ethnic group in New Jersey, reporting fair to poor health, and 39.5 percent of New Jersey Hispanics did not participate in any physical activity during the previous month.
Wednesday, John Fritz, D.O., a clinical director of the Amigos program, said that language and cultural differences are often obstacles to diagnosis and treatment.
“Because individuals don’t always understand that the diagnosis of a potentially life-threatening disease such as diabetes might be preventable and can successfully be managed for years, they often compromise their health and increase the likelihood of serious illness and complications,” he said. “It’s much better for individuals if they can learn to effectively manage diabetes at home and in the community, with people who can relate to their experience.”
Eileen Crowley, Pfizer Health Solutions’ Amigos En Salud program, said that it takes a real effort to manage diabetes, because dramatic lifestyle and nutritional changes are necessary to be able to live with the illness. “Health promoters are the essential step in the health care process,” she said.
Rep. Robert Menendez (D-33rd district), who is of Cuban descent, said medical prevention strategies welcomed in the Hispanic Community. “In order to lead healthy lives and remain healthy, we need to encourage our families, friends and neighbors to visit doctors on a regular basis,” said Menendez. “Unfortunately, Hispanics nationally, and in New Jersey, often can not afford to do so, and are disproportionably affected by diabetes, a disease that requires regular monitoring.”
Earlier this year Menendez introduced to Congress the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act to increase prevention screening among Hispanics, and help them navigate through the health care system when a disease such as diabetes in diagnosed.
“The Amigos program will provide members of the community with the opportunity to receive important and relevant information on diabetes care in a culturally sensitive manner,” he said.
Created in 1995, Pfizer Health Solutions, Inc. (PHS) is the clinical informatics subsidiary of Pfizer Inc., which merges technology applications with clinical care.
The Bon Secours and Canterbury Partnership for Care operates St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken and Christ Hospital, St. Francis and the Franciscan Home and Rehabilitation Center in Jersey City and currently has 3,105 employees and 1,205 physicians.