In a recent report by the CDC, Arizona was ranked number one in diabetes self-management education, with an increase of 34 percent participation by residents with diabetes from 2012 to 2014. Diabetes self-management education help people with diabetes build the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for self-care. Our goal is to improve clinical outcomes across the state by supporting Arizonans in making informed decisions, engaging in effective self-care behaviors, and actively collaborating with a health care team.

For the past 10 years our Diabetes Program has partnered with non-profit organizations, local health departments, and various health systems to increase awareness and promote the utilization of diabetes self-management education programs. We have also worked to expand the programs in rural areas of the state where the prevalence of diabetes remains heightened. As a result of the CDC Public Health in Actions cooperative agreement awarded to ADHS, the Diabetes Program has provided technical assistance to a diversity of organizations in Arizona to become accredited or recognized as diabetes self-management education programs.

Our Diabetes Program along with the Arizona Diabetes Coalition has helped promote the participation of patients with diabetes to existing diabetes self-management education programs in an effort to reduce the burden of diabetes, specifically among vulnerable populations. The increase of participation in these education programs could not have been possible without the efforts of the Arizona Diabetes Coalition and the Arizona Diabetes Leadership Council, who for many years have guided the Diabetes Program in strategic efforts to uphold its mission of an Arizona free of diabetes.