Equity-Focused Evaluation of a Medicaid-Funded Statewide Diabetes Quality Improvement Project Collaborative

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the Ohio Diabetes Quality Improvement Project (QIP) equity aim to reduce the percentage of Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Hispanic patients with A1C >9% by ≥20% over 2 years.

Research design and methods: The Ohio Department of Medicaid, Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center, Ohio Medicaid managed care plans, and seven medical schools in Ohio formed the Diabetes QIP collaborative using the collective impact model to improve diabetes outcomes and equity in 20 practices across 11 health systems. The quality improvement (QI) strategies included data audit and feedback, peer-to-peer learning, QI coaching/practice facilitation, and subject matter expert consultation through coaching calls, monthly webinars, and annual virtual learning sessions. Electronic health record data were collected for preintervention (2019-2020) and intervention (2020-2022) periods. Assessments of improvements in A1C were based on prevalence of A1C >9% from preintervention, year 1, and year 2 with stratification by race and ethnicity.

Results: The Diabetes QIP included 7,689 (54% female) sociodemographically diverse patients, self-identifying as non-Hispanic White (NHW) (42%), NHB (43%), Hispanic (8%), non-Hispanic Asian (4%), or other (3%). In year 2 compared with baseline, there were decreases in the proportion of patients with A1C >9% among NHW, NHB, and Hispanic patients (NHW from 19% to 12% [37% reduction], NHB 23% to 18% [22% reduction], and Hispanic 29% to 23% [20% reduction]).

Conclusions: The Ohio Diabetes QIP, focused on multisector collaborative approaches, reduced the percentage of patients with A1C >9% by ≥20% among NHW, NHB, and Hispanic populations. Given the persistence of disparities, further equity-focused refinements are warranted to address disparities in diabetes control.