Rural Health Research Institute

New Grant Promotes Diabetes Education

Providing solutions to community-based health problems is becoming a reality with Georgia Southern University’s Rural Health Research Institute (RHRI), after a recent grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The $450,000 grant will fund Project ADEPT (Applied Diabetes Education Program using Telehealth), which will provide diabetes education to approximately 750 patients in a four-county area this fall.

The project was developed by the University’s RHRI with the intention of bringing information to diabetes patients on how to care for themselves and manage their condition. Dr. Jacob Warren and Dr. Bryant Smalley, the co-executive directors of the RHRI were awarded the grant, which targets patients in Candler, Emanuel, Tattnall and Toombs counties, who have difficult time accessing important information on how to best manage the symptoms and possible complications of the disease.

“This grant is a way for us to get information directly to patients who may not have access to regular transportation and who may go long periods in between doctor visits,” said Smalley, a clinical psychologist in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences . “If a patient has regular access to information about nutrition, exercise, and the warning signs of a complication caused by diabetes, we feel they have a much better chance of effectively managing their condition.”

The grant funds will be used to connect the RHRI with East Georgia Healthcare Center patients, and the Southeastern Telehealth Resource Center will support the technical aspect of the program. “Project ADEPT can be used in an individual or group setting,” explained Warren, an epidemiologist in the Jiann- Ping Hsu College of Public Health. “It can be used for one session, or to give a patient the information needed over a period of time. We are making this available in English and Spanish in an effort to make sure anyone who needs the information will have access to it. Our goal is to help the patients make long-term health behavior changes that will lead to a better quality of life.”

The RHRI was founded in 2011, and is an interdisciplinary hub of rural health research and outreach that spans five colleges within Georgia Southern.