Foundation publishes in peer-reviewed journal on diabetes in Dallas

In the Winter 2014 edition of the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, the DFW Hospital Council (DFWHC) Foundation published “Environmental Disparities Present a Challenge for Diabetes Prevention and Management Efforts in Dallas County.” The paper rendered Dallas County transparent and exposed specific zip codes displaying unusually high prevalence of diabetes.



Authors included Sushma Sharma, Theresa Mendoza, Crystee Cooper, Kristin Jenkins, Pamela Doughty and Carol Young of the DFWHC Foundation and Larry Tubb of Cook Children’s Health Care System.

As noted in the paper, Texas is home to nearly two million men, women and children with diabetes, with more than 500,000 residing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Recognizing the need to implement diabetes prevention efforts while providing education to crisis areas in Dallas, the DFW Hospital Council Foundation utilized the Geographic Information System (GIS) to analyze regional zip codes.

Utilizing the DFWHC Foundation’s extensive database, the report revealed zip codes with the highest prevalence of diabetes and the disparities influencing the high numbers. Results showed zip codes with high numbers of diabetics had limited access to fresh food and supermarkets. Food banks, parks, sidewalks, hospitals and medical clinics were also limited, providing promising clues for reducing diabetes in Dallas County.

“With identification of the disparities in the high diabetes zip codes in Dallas County, public health efforts and resources can be more efficiently targeted for prevention and management,” said Dr. Sushma Sharma of the DFWHC Foundation and lead author of the study.

You can read the study here.