In November 2019, Cities Changing Diabetes – Philadelphia became the
second US city and 25th city globally to join the network. The Cities
Changing Diabetes program invested more than a year researching the
diabetes epidemic in Philadelphia. A community-wide assessment
identified certain neighborhood characteristics that were strongly
associated with diabetes in urban settings and that have implications
for neighborhood residents’ engagement in diabetes prevention
activities. Philadelphia’s November 2019 launch event was hosted
jointly by the Cities Changing Diabetes Philadelphia Advisory Board
members, including the Healthcare Improvement Foundation, Public Health
Management Corporation, and Novo Nordisk with nearly 100 health, faith,
business, and community leaders from across the community in attendance.
The research in Philadelphia builds on the approach used in Houston and
takes it to the next level: the neighbourhood. The research underscores
the importance of community in addressing health and wellness and
wellbeing. The Cities Changing Diabetes – Philadelphia coalition will
use this information as it begins to develop and ultimately implement
new programs to support diabetes prevention. In 2020, as the
Philadelphia program was getting underway, COVID-19 emerged, changing
daily life and work around the world. Because of COVID-19, the Cities
Changing Diabetes – Philadelphia project team had to reimagine how the
collaboration and co-creation of ideas — the hallmark of Cities Changing
Diabetes — could happen, and how this innovation in public health could
take place safely during a pandemic. The project team adopted a web
portal to create a venue for stakeholder engagement, communication, and
collaboration that is essential to the success of Cities Changing
Diabetes. The result was a virtual Innovation Challenge that generated
43 ideas from nearly 400 stakeholders – far surpassing the program goal
of 25 ideas. The panel of local public health, healthcare, academic and
community experts then selected 12 ideas for how to improve diabetes
prevention and care in the city. The 12 idea teams took part in a
10-week virtual Boot Camp where participants further shaped their ideas
and developed proposals to be pitched for preliminary funding from Novo
Nordisk and development under Cities Changing Diabetes. On January 13,
2021. the five selected ideas and their Action Workgroups were
recognized and began the Action process. Each of the selected
initiatives represents an innovation in disease prevention, care or
management, and is supported by well-established Philadelphia-based
non-profit/health care organizations. Combined, they create a set of
powerful and diverse projects that people and organizations from across
the city will collaborate on to help address health inequities and bend
the diabetes and obesity curve in Philadelphia. Activate! Advocates for
Diabetes Prevention Developed by the Health Promotion Council (HPC) and
Public Health Management Corporation This initiative will train three
cohorts of youth ages 13 to 18 to become community advocates for policy
and environmental change solutions to prevent the rising epidemic of
obesity, diabetes, and pre-diabetes among young people. Through
youth/adult partnerships and the use of new media platforms, these youth
leaders will work to solve systemic public health challenges and
collaboratively create solutions. Their work will include a social media
campaign and workshop series designed to engage other youth in
conversations about obesity and type 2 Diabetes prevention strategies
and to empower them to advocate at the city and county levels to
transform the underlying social and environmental factors of obesity and
diabetes. City of Hope: Latinos Preventing Diabetes Developed by
Esperanza and Jefferson Health System / Thomas Jefferson University
Hospital’s Center for Urban Health / Thomas Jefferson University College
of Population Health & College of Nursing This inter-generational
Latinx diabetes prevention program will engage youth leaders as
catalysts for community health education. The program's cornerstone will
be the empowerment of youth across the K-14 educational pipeline and the
training of Community Health Workers drawn from a network of local
community residents. The youth leaders and Community Health Workers will
work together to build capacity and momentum for sustained obesity and
diabetes prevention programming in Hunting Park – the heart of Hispanic
North Philadelphia. The program’s core components will result in
effective population-based screening and educational programs maximizing
digital health to engage and track outcomes. Developing a Peer &
Community Approach for Managing Diabetes in Disability Developed by
Temple University’s College of Public Health This community-based
program will design a peer-based approach to connect individuals from
disability communities experiencing Spinal Cord Injury, Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities, and Serious Mental Illness to sustainable
and accessible resources necessary to manage their diabetes and maintain
a healthy lifestyle. Faculty from Temple’s College of Public Health will
train and employ a peer workforce to support individuals with
disabilities to identify person-centered approaches to treating and
preventing diabetes. The peer workforce, comprised of individuals
experiencing disability and diabetes, will play an essential role in
supporting others with disabilities, educating health professionals, and
serving as a critical voice for improving the health and well-being of
individuals with disabilities. Eat to Live Developed by Congreso de
Latinos Unidos, Inc., American Heart Association, Health Promotion
Council, Public Health Management Corporation, and Sanctuary Farm. This
initiative will scale up the original Eat to Live pilot program, which
integrates personalized non-medical interventions into the primary care
services that patients already receive; and provides participants with a
peer support network, monthly produce baskets, nutrition lessons,
cooking demonstrations, and behavioral health support. The program will
be replicated at Congreso and expanded to nine other Federally Qualified
Health Centers (FQHCs). The intention is to increase access to the
program across the City of Philadelphia in FQHC settings that are
already familiar and trusted for the target population. The goal is to
serve 1,000 clients and minimize the challenges of limited access to
healthy foods and unhealthy eating habits that contribute to higher
rates of diabetes, obesity, and hypertension in underserved populations
across the City. Prison Pre-Release Healthy Initiative Developed by The
Food Trust, City of Philadelphia Reentry Coalition, Thomas Jefferson
University College of Nursing, Action Wellness Health Services, Temple
University College of Public Health Department of Rehabilitation
Sciences, Philadelphia Department of Prisons and Community-based
Reentry/Recovery houses (10-15 houses) This initiative is a nutrition
education/cooking series to help address obesity, diabetes and other
chronic health conditions. The 6-week series is designed for inmates and
returning citizens to help them make healthier food choices in prison
and learn how to shop and prepare healthy meals upon returning home. In
Philadelphia, one in six residents have been incarcerated. Approximately
half of individuals in prison report having a chronic condition,
including obesity and diabetes, often connected to an unhealthy diet.
Individuals returning to the community after incarceration face
financial insecurity and food insecurity, leading to challenges
purchasing and eating healthy foods, resulting in a negative impact on
health. Partners • American Diabetes Association • American Heart
Association • Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists •
Congreso de Latinos Unidos • CVS • Drexel Medicine • Enon Tabernacle
Baptist Church • Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania • Esperanza • Greater
Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health • Greater Philadelphia Health
Action • Health Care Improvement Foundation • Health Promotion Council •
Independence Blue Cross • IBX Foundation • Keystone First • Independence
Blue Cross • Penn Asian Senior Services, Inc. (PASSi) • Penn Medicine •
Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine • Philadelphia Corporation
on Aging • Philadelphia County Medical Society • Public Health
Management Corporation • Temple Health System • Temple School of Public
Health • The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia • Thomas
Jefferson Health System • Thomas Jefferson Center for Urban Health •
Thomas Jefferson School of Population Health