CMO Message - Diabetes Awareness

The New Year inspires us to improve ourselves but in order to make progress, we need first to understand our starting point.

In November, we ran our first ever A1c IN CHECK ✔ campaign to raise awareness about diabetes and encourage our members to get tested. A1c is a measure of average blood glucose in the last three months used to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. Barriers like health awareness, access to care and fears due to the pandemic can make it challenging for our members to get the screening they need. We designed A1c IN CHECK to overcome these issues and increase engagement.

As part of the campaign, 155 people got their A1c checked. One in five had values in the prediabetes range. One in ten had values in the diabetes range.

Of those with diabetes, 71% did not have their condition under control, putting them at a higher risk of catastrophic health events like heart attacks, strokes and severe infections.

A few were diagnosed with diabetes for the first time because of the campaign. For other participants who already knew they had diabetes, getting their A1c rechecked prompted additional diabetes care that they needed. Many were restarted on medications and have follow-ups arranged with our Health & Wellness Centers. Members diagnosed with prediabetes received lifestyle coaching and will also get their labs rechecked to track progress. With proper lifestyle changes, those with prediabetes can take control of their health and decrease their risk of developing diabetes later on.

The A1c IN CHECK campaign was a huge success! It was fun, effective, fostered a greater sense of community, decreased fear and stigma around diabetes and closed gaps in care. This campaign was just the beginning of how we are planning to engage our membership in 2021.

Stay tuned for future campaigns, including cervical cancer screening in early 2021!