Know your diabetes risk project: Student pharmacists educating adults about diabetes risk in a community pharmacy setting

Objectives: To determine the feasibility of educating adults about their risk of prediabetes/diabetes in a community pharmacy, to determine the common risk factors for prediabetes/diabetes in adults visiting a community pharmacy, and to assess any association between risk factors and age. Design: Cross sectional. Setting: Oklahoma community pharmacies between April 1 and December 31, 2008. Participants: 1,852 patients aged 18 to 80 years. Intervention: Student pharmacists invited adults to complete a survey to assess their risk for diabetes/prediabetes. Students reviewed participants' risk and educated them on lifestyle changes to lower diabetes risk. Main outcome measures: Patient risk factors, pharmacy identifier, and pharmacy type (independent, chain, or clinic pharmacy) and location (rural, suburban, or city). Results: Diabetes risk assessment and education of 1,852 adults was performed by 110 student pharmacists in 52 community pharmacies located in 27 cities across 13 (of 77) Oklahoma counties. Obesity/overweight was the most common risk factor (57%), with positive family history, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, member of high-risk ethnic group, and sedentary lifestyle being reported by at least 20% of participants. The number of risk factors increased with age, with a significant increase occurring in participants older than 40 years of age. Conclusion: This project demonstrated that it is feasible to perform diabetes risk assessment and to provide education on lowering that risk through community pharmacies.