ARHealth Ventures, Inc. (ARHealth) is the lead applicant applying for Component B to implement the Reaching Every Arkansan by Connecting Health (REACH) Resources to Reduce Diabetes Disparities.
REACH will focus on reducing diabetes health disparities and achieving health equity with a focus on 61 high-need counties in Arkansas: Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Clark, Clay, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Crittenden, Cross, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Franklin, Fulton, Garland, Greene, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Independence, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Logan, Madison, Miller, Mississippi, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Scott, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone, Union, Van Buren, Washington, White, Woodruff, Yell. These counties were identified in the NOFO CDC-RFA-DP-23-0020 as high-need counties with higher rates of diabetes and barriers to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES).
The total target population in these counties is 2,204,910 with ~1.602,298 being rural and/or minoritized populations. The minoritized populations in these areas include African American/Black, Hispanic, and Marshallese Pacific Islanders. These populations were chosen because they have the highest health and economic disparities and the greatest need according to the CDC’s social vulnerability index (SVI).
REACH will address the public health problem of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by implementing four strategies:
Strategy 1 (RFA Strategy 1): Strengthen self-care practices by improving access, appropriateness, and feasibility of diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services for rural and minoritized populations in 61 high-need counties in Arkansas.
Strategy 2 (RFA Strategy 9): Increase and sustain DSMES delivery sites within pharmacy networks to improve reach to rural and minoritized populations in 61 high-need counties.
Strategy 3 (RFA Strategy 12): Improve the sustainability of community health workers (CHWs) by building or strengthening a supportive infrastructure to expand their involvement in evidence-based diabetes prevention and management programs and services.
Strategy 4 (RFA strategy 13): Improve the capacity of the diabetes workforce to address factors related to the social determinants of health (SDOH) that impact health outcomes for rural and minoritized populations in Arkansas with and at risk for diabetes.
Strategies are specifically tailored to meet the social determinants of health needs and reach the priority population (rural and minoritized community members in the 61 high-need counties). REACH outcomes align fully with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) as outlined in the NOFO. REACH is built on a long-standing (5+ years) collaboration among primary partners. ARHealth will collaborate with three community-based partners: 1) the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association (ARCHWA), 2) the Arkansas Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (AR-CPESN), and 3) the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Office of Community Health. Each of these partner networks provides a unique opportunity to address SDOH and reach underserved communities. Each of these partners has physical locations, employees, and programs in the 61 high-need counties.
