Integrating continuous glucose monitoring in diabetes self‐management education and support toimprove glycemic control in latino adults with type 2 diabetes

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded Scripps Health $331,277 on September 15, 2025, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to fund research integrating continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in diabetes self-management education and support to improve glycemic control in Latino adults with type 2 diabetes.

The research, titled "Integrating Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support to Improve Glycemic Control in Latino Adults with Type 2 Diabetes," pursues three specific objectives: conducting a needs assessment with patients, diabetes educators, clinicians, and health plan administrators to identify barriers and facilitators to CGM device uptake and maintained use; integrating CGM education into the Project Dulce diabetes education curriculum and developing implementation strategies using implementation mapping; and pilot-testing the integrated curriculum across six months in a cohort of 72 insulin-treated adults with type 2 diabetes to assess improvements in CGM metrics. The career development plan supports the principal investigator's transition to independence through training in building sustainable community partnerships, implementation science, CGM implementation and data evaluation, rigorous qualitative and advanced quantitative statistical methodologies, leadership skills for multi-center studies, and grant writing. Work is performed in La Jolla, California, with the period of performance extending through July 31, 2030.

Abstract

DR. SAN diego is a social and behavioral scientist with a strong foundation in using community-based participatory research (cbpr) and clinical and translational sciences. As an early-stage investigator, her research is focused on using a socioecological perspective to adapt type 2 diabetes (T2D) self-management programs to address individual, social, and environmental factors that influence health outcomes. As such she is pursuing a research career combining cbpr and implementation science to improve digital health outcomes in populations experiencing high prevalence of T2D complications and may benefit from newer treatment approaches. The proposed research aims to: 1) understand barriers and facilitators to CGM device uptake and maintained use by conducting a needs assessment with patients, diabetes educators, clinicians, and health plan administrators; 2) integrate education of CGM device in the project dulce diabetes education curriculum (CGM + PD) and develop implementation strategies using implementation mapping; and 3) pilot test CGM + PD in improving CGM metrics in insulin-treated adults (n=72) with T2D across 6 months. The K01 career development plan supports the research aims and DR. SAN diego's transition to independence with training in 1) building sustainable network and community partnerships; 2) implementation science; 3) CGM implementation and data evaluation; 4) rigorous qualitative and advanced quantitative statistical methodologies; 5) leadership skills to execute multi-center studies; and 6) grant writing for a large, multi-site study. She will be supported by a strong mentoring team, including DR. Athena philis-tsimikas (primary mentor), an expert in team-based diabetes care, community-engaged research, and integrating diabetes technologies into real-world healthcare settings; DR. Amisha wallia, a physician scientist with expertise in health research, diabetes technologies, and multi-site trials; DR. Michael i. Goran, an expert in clinical, behavioral, and community approaches to T2D treatment and risk reduction; DR. Beth pyatak, an occupational scientist with expertise in qualitative methods and implementation science research; DR. Jill waalen, a biostatistician with expertise in CGM data analysis; and DR. Barbara j. Turner, an expert in dissemination and implementation science and community-engaged research. DR. SAN diego's overarching goal is to improve the quality and quantity of life of populations burdened by T2D. Scripps health is an ideal environment for her to accomplish her training and career goals given its clinical settings that offer health care and access to various populations in SAN diego, CA, and is committed to providing her with protected time and resources needed to successfully complete her study. Importantly, this award will provide her with protected training time to build on her existing skills in cbpr and advance her knowledge in implementation science and diabetes technologies so that she can conduct studies that promote the adoption and integration of digital health devices in real-world settings.