Introduction and Objective: In South Carolina (SC), women with or at risk for diabetes often experience a lack of preventive care, fragmented services, and inadequate follow-up. These challenges are further compounded during pregnancy. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) a program of Diabetes Free SC (DFSC), was developed to improve diabetes prevention, education, and management for adult women across SC, complementing team-based pregnancy care provided by the DFSC ‘SC MOMs’ program.Methods: WHI (5 centers across SC) implemented multidisciplinary, culturally responsive care integrating enhanced diabetes screening, self-management education, and coordinated primary care using endocrinology, obstetrics, and community resources. Each included nurse navigators, diabetes educators, community health workers, and telemedicine support. Key clinical outcomes (blood pressure (BP), BMI, HbA1c, lipid panel, vitamin D, urine ACR, and diabetes knowledge were assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Available paired data were centrally analyzed by DFSC using paired Student’s t-tests.Results: 1,713 women enrolled in 2021-2025 (55% Black, 16% White, 22% Hispanic, 7% other; 3% T1DM, 51% T2DM, 44% at risk, 2% other diabetes). By 6 months, significant improvements (all p <0.001 unless stated separately) occurred in systolic BP/ diastolic BP (128.7/77.8→125.5/76.4 mmHg), BMI (37.6→37.1 kg/m²), and HbA1c (T2DM: 8.0%→7.6%; at-risk: 5.9%→5.8%). LDL decreased (103.8→99.4 mg/dL), vitamin D increased (25.3→29.4 ng/mL); uACR improved (67.0→44.2 mg/g, p=0.031). At 12 months, improvements persisted or strengthened with diabetes knowledge scores increasing from 4.2 to 4.7 out of 5.0 (p<0.001).Conclusion: The WHI multidisciplinary model produced meaningful improvements in glycemic control, cardiometabolic risk factors, and diabetes knowledge in a large, diverse cohort. The findings highlight the efficacy of coordinated, team-based intervention, including focused pre-pregnancy and postpartum support, in improving women’s health.
D. Fu: None. M.J. Leyva: None. M. Jindal: None. K. Sims: None. H. Karanchi: None. R.W. Gimbel: None. K.K. Justice: None. J. Clark: None. M. Smith: None. K. Carnes: None. J.N. Shields: None. M. Edwards: None. J. Britt: None. J. Amidon: None. J. Kimsey: None. M. Cornier: Other – DSMB member; Current; Advarra. Consultant; Ended; AstraZeneca. Advisory Panel; Current; Biophytis. Consultant; Current; Bonus Health, Enveda, Kero. Advisory Panel; Current; Lilly, Novo Nordisk. Consultant; Current; Rivus, Wave, Zyversa. C.A. Moore: None. J. Liu: None. U. Lilavivat: None. T. Lyons: None.
BCBSSC Foundation (2022-03, 2025-02, 2025-02, 2025-09, 2025-010, 2025-11)
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