Peers for Progress

UNC and Shanghai collaborate on promising models for the global challenge of diabetes

February 3, 2020

Researchers from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and Peers for Progress have collaborated with colleagues in Shanghai on a paper showing the contributions of peer support to diabetes management, published today in Translational Behavioral Medicine. This paper is part of a special section of the journal devoted to prevention and management of diabetes in varied international settings – China, India, South Africa, Sweden and Uganda.

If the 463 million people across the globe with diabetes were a country, they would constitute the third-largest in the world, behind India and China but well ahead of the United States. This represents dramatic increases in the percentages of people with diabetes – many of whom do not know they have the disease – and reflects parallel increases in obesity around the world. The continued growth of diabetes, along with other chronic diseases, is most dramatic in low- and middle-income countries, but it…

May Newsletter Focuses on Peer Support and Primary Care

Peer support programs can strengthen primary care practice and community health, reaching vulnerable populations and reducing health disparities. Through the work of promotores, it can even address the social determinants of health. In this issue of the Peers for Progress newsletter, we spotlight a peer health coaching program in a primary care setting that has helped low-income, minority patients manage their diabetes. You will also find program resources and research briefs about the impact of peer support on disadvantaged populations.

Peers for Progress Meeting Report – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

In October 2010, over 60 representatives of peer support programs and organizations – from 14 Peers for Progress Evaluation Grantees and over 40 groups involved in peer support from around the world – met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to identify and discuss critical aspects of peer support interventions, their effects, dissemination, sustainability, and implications for next steps.

The purpose of this Meeting Report is to highlight cross-cutting points and key themes that are emerging from this learning community, and to frame them as considerations for strengthening peer support as a key part of health, health care, and prevention around the world. Additional details for each point can be found in the main report.

Click here to read the full report