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Review
. 2022 Jul;22(7):275-281.
doi: 10.1007/s11892-022-01470-3. Epub 2022 Jun 1.

The Use of Diabetes Technology to Address Inequity in Health Outcomes: Limitations and Opportunities

Shivani Agarwal  1   2 , Iman Simmonds  3 , Alyson K Myers  4   5
Affiliations
Review

The Use of Diabetes Technology to Address Inequity in Health Outcomes: Limitations and Opportunities

Shivani Agarwal et al. Curr Diab Rep. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The management of diabetes has been revolutionized by the introduction of novel technological treatments and modalities of care, such as continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump therapy, and telehealth. While these technologies have demonstrated improvement in health outcomes, it remains unclear whether they have reduced inequities from racial/ethnic minority or socioeconomic status. We review the current literature to discuss evidence of benefit, current limitations, and future opportunities of diabetes technologies.

Findings: While there is ample evidence of the health and psychological benefit of diabetes technologies in large populations of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, there remain wide disparities in the use of diabetes technologies, which may be perpetuating or widening inequities. Multilevel barriers include inequitable prescribing practices, lack of support for social determinants of health, mismatch of patient preferences and care models, and cost. We provide a review of disparities in diabetes technology use, possible root causes of continued inequity in outcomes, and insight into ways to overcome remaining gaps.

Keywords: Continuous glucose monitors (CGM); Diabetes technology; Disparities; Insulin pump; Telehealth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Shivani Agarwal works as a healthcare disparities advisor for Medtronic Inc. and Beta Bionics. Iman Simmonds and Alyson K. Myers have no disclosures.

References

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