UW Faculty Members Bring Diabetes Prevention Program to Wyoming

Two clinical faculty members in the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy have received a grant to launch a lifestyle change program aimed at preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes in Wyoming.

Leena Myran and Thanh Nguyen, along with physician Ronald Malm and the team from the UW Family Medicine Residency (UWFMR) clinic in Cheyenne, successfully participated in a competitive grant process. UW was one of five awardees through the Wyoming Department of Health.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 84.1 million adults in the United States have prediabetes. To combat this threat, the CDC created a program to provide evidence-based, low-cost interventions across the nation. The Diabetes Prevention Program includes partners from the public and private sector.

“Nine out of 10 people with prediabetes don’t know they have it,” Nguyen says. “Offering the Diabetes Prevention Program to the community through the UWFMR will help raise awareness.”

UWFMR clinic personnel will use a curriculum developed by the CDC and complete training to provide lifestyle coaching for participants. The program is geared toward adults in and around Cheyenne and Laramie County who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

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“The grant from the Wyoming Department of Health will help us to get our lifestyle change program off the ground,” Myran says. “Some of the funding is being used for training lifestyle coaches who will be involved in the implementation of the yearlong lifestyle change programs. A portion of the grant will be used for incentives for participants to aid in motivation. We are excited to be able to involve physician faculty, resident physicians, pharmacists, and nurses.”

The UWFMR clinic is designated as an Educational Health Center of Wyoming and a Federally Qualified Health Center, making it an ideal place to implement the program.

“This is a great opportunity for family medicine resident physicians to become trained as lifestyle coaches and help their patients live healthier lifestyles,” Myran says. “We hope to continue the program for years to come.”