INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Company and Indiana University’s Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI have launched a new neighborhood-based, data-driven pilot in Indianapolis to help address the high incidence of diabetes. Building on similar efforts Lilly has developed in lower-income communities in Mexico, India and South Africa, the $7 million, five-year program will focus on three Indianapolis neighborhoods with significant health disparities and high rates of diabetes: the Coalition of Northeast Neighborhoods, Northwest Neighborhood and Near Westside Neighborhood.
People living in the three Indianapolis communities can sign up to receive information about the diabetes pilot by visiting diabetes.iupui.edu.
Life expectancy in these three communities can be 14 years lower than in neighborhoods just 10 miles away. The lower life expectancy rate is largely due to health disparities and is similar to rates seen in countries such as Iraq and Bangladesh.
This pilot in Indianapolis neighborhoods will target people with diabetes or at risk for the disease. The three communities were selected based on high prevalence of diabetes, socio-economic factors and highly engaged community members and organizations.
The pilot will deploy a model that uses newly hired community health care workers to help identify people with diabetes and connect them with quality care. In addition, community members will help identify and propose solutions for cultural, social, environmental, economic and policy barriers that increase the risk for diabetes, such as the lack of healthy food options and public spaces for exercise.