Spotlight On: African American Diabetes Association

When Leon Rock was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005, he had a very hard time finding information about how the disease impacts African Americans specifically. This concerned him, given that African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes, a health condition that occurs when your blood sugar is too high.

The disparity is striking: Approximately, 12.5 percent of non-Hispanic Black Americans are living with diabetes compared with 8.5 percent of non-Hispanic white Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Living with diabetes also increases the risk of diabetes-related health complications in African Americans, including heart disease, neuropathy, and depression.

To make matters worse, the diabetes mortality rate for Black adults is 2.21 times higher than the rate for white adults, research shows.

Rock talked to his friends and learned that many of them felt the same way: There was a shortage of information about diabetes in the Black community , and they wanted to do something about it. They decided to use their backgrounds in education to take matters into their own hands.

They got to work, and in February 2022, in honor of Black History Month, Rock along with his co-founder Barbara King announced the formation of the African American Diabetes Association (AADA) , a national nonprofit organization led by African Americans.

Launching during the pandemic felt particularly powerful, as COVID-19 had highlighted various areas of disparity and inequity across the healthcare system.

"It was the perfect timing to announce that we exist and get some information out there about diabetes," says Rock, who is also CEO of the AADA.

Its Goal

The AADA has big plans to educate underserved communities across the United States about diabetes and encourage them to take steps to protect their health.

Over the next five years, says Rock, one of the main goals of the AADA is to spread diabetes awareness and education throughout the diabetes belt. This consists of 644 counties across 15 states in the southern United States, where there's a high prevalence of diabetes.

From there, the plan is to create chapters of the AADA across the United States to address diabetes locally in Black communities, "similar to how organizations like the NAACP and the Urban League are structured," explains Rock.

And while the focus is on educating African American communities about diabetes, Rock makes it clear that the AADA's goal is to educate everyone. "It doesn't matter if you're Black, brown, Latino, Mexican, Asian, or white. Our concern is educating all people about diabetes."

Its Services

To help reach these communities, the AADA is working to host locally driven gatherings through partnerships with:

• Barbershops and beauty salons
• Church groups and other faith-based organizations
• Historically Black colleges and universities, including fraternities and sororities
• Public and assisted housing resident associations
• Professional sports teams
• Local, regional, and national nonprofit health organizations
• City, state, county, and federal government agencies

It also plans to host webinars to reach a wider audience.

"We want to partner with any and every organization out there that is interested in health equity," says Rock. "We want to inform people about diabetes, the challenges, and the opportunities to become healthier."

Events

In addition to participating in locally driven gatherings, the AADA also partners with state organizations in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virginia to participate in educational pop-up events and fundraising walks. All gatherings are open to the public, notes Rock.

The AADA is also expanding its volunteer base, says Rock, to help spread the word about diabetes.

To learn more about the AADA's upcoming events, programs, and other ways to get involved, check out its events page . You can also follow it on Facebook , Instagram , and X . Or you can reach out to talk to a member by calling 240-564-9040.

Core Belief

The AADA's mission is to develop, implement, and promote diabetes outreach, education, and health equity in underserved, under-resourced, and underfunded communities across the United States. By developing partnerships to provide culturally relevant resources, advocacy efforts, and interventions, the organization works to fulfill its vision to help eradicate the racial inequities in diabetes care.

"Diabetes is killing us," says Rock. "Most of the health challenges that African Americans face, be it a heart attack, stroke, amputations, or eye challenges , have a correlation to diabetes. That's why our mission is to educate, motivate, and mobilize people locally to address diabetes in their communities."

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Sources

1. National Diabetes Statistics Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . May 15, 2024.
2. Coping With Discrimination Among African Americans With Type 2 Diabetes: Factor Structure and Associations With Diabetes Control, Mental Distress, and Psychosocial Resources. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . January 25, 2024.
3. Buscemi J et al. Diabetes Mortality Across the 30 Biggest U.S. Cities: Assessing Overall Trends and Racial Inequities. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice . January 7, 2021.
4. Nana-Sinkam P et al. Health Disparities and Equity in the Era of COVID-19. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science . March 16, 2021.
5. CDC Identifies Diabetes Belt. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . March 7, 2015.