WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are evaluating whether encouraging healthy lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes is more effective through a group counseling setting, or through an individual education program.
This two-year study, called the Healthy Living Partnership to Prevent Diabetes, or HELP Prevent Diabetes, is currently recruiting volunteers in Forsyth County.
Participants will be placed in one of two study groups. The first approach will involve weekly group meetings led by a trained community health worker who will give information about weight loss, physical activity and nutrition. The second group will receive individualized counseling from a registered dietician.
“Diabetes is fast becoming one of the most important health problems in the U.S.,” said David Goff, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator and professor of public health sciences and internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist. “We know that most cases of diabetes can be prevented through diet, activity and weight control. The HELP Prevent Diabetes study will show whether we can prevent it using a community-based approach that can fit the lives of real people in Forsyth County.”
The study will also investigate the cost effectiveness of these intervention programs and will break down effectiveness based on age, gender and ethnicity.
For more information, call 336-716-8747.
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Media contact: Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu or Karen Richardson, krchrdson@wfubmc.edu; at (336) 716-4587.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,154 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.