Characteristics of diabetic patients receiving care at the Montana migrant council : a descriptive study

Abstract

Problem/Aims: Although migrant workers face higher rates of chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes, little is known about the specific health status characteristics of this vulnerable population. In Montana, outreach designed to address migrant worker health care access disparity includes community clinics that provide bilingual and culturally-sensitive, preventive care. The focus of this study was to (a) describe the characteristics of the diabetic migrant population who receive services at Montana Migrant Council clinics and (b) determine which information obtained during the patient visit is most often recorded. Methods: This non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional study applied secondary analysis to existing de-identified data from the Patient Electronic Care System (PECS) database managed by the Montana Migrant Council (MMC). Sample size (n = 30) was determined by the diabetes registry criteria established in the MMC Clinician's Manual. Results: Although 151 diabetic migrant patients were present in the state of Montana in 2008, only 30 were enrolled in the database and received primary care from MMC during the year. Characteristics such as age, gender, body mass index, blood pressure, and baseline laboratory testing were used to describe this population of patients. Of the 30 patients in the PECS database, 53% were female, 84% ranged in age from 30-64 years old, 60% were Hispanic, and 93% were uninsured. Ten percent of these patients had recorded blood pressures >140/90 and over half had co-existing hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Sixteen percent had neuropathy and/or nephropathy, 23% had microalbuminuria, and 7% had retinopathy. All 30 patients in the registry had a dental exam, nutrition education, a foot exam, substance abuse screening, a lipid panel, and a hemoglobin A1C drawn. Forty percent of PECS diabetes patients had an A1C less than 7.0. Fifty-six percent of patients had HDL cholesterol less than the desired 45mg/dL. Conclusion: Although results of this study agreed with findings in the literature, the MMC population possess unique characteristics including a high percentage of female registrants, a high number of Caucasian registrants, and a high number of annual visits (average of 10 within the PECS registry).