Opinion
Video
Additional Clinical Considerations for the Management of Obesity
Author(s):
Panelists discuss how reaching underserved populations requires proactive outreach, digital health tools with appropriate training, addressing health literacy barriers, and ensuring equitable access to diabetes technologies and treatments rather than waiting for patients to seek care.
Addressing Health Disparities
Underserved populations require proactive outreach rather than waiting for patients to seek care, as they often lack adequate healthcare access. Health economics evidence increasingly supports reaching out to these patients preventively to avoid unplanned healthcare utilization and hospitalizations, which proves more cost-effective than reactive care models. Digital health tools offer opportunities to reach patients who cannot easily travel to appointments due to work or transportation barriers.
However, underserved populations often need training to effectively use digital health technologies due to limited digital literacy. Healthcare providers must avoid assumptions about barriers to care and instead directly inquire about specific obstacles patients face. Common barriers include poor health literacy, lack of digital skills, transportation issues, and food insecurity, but individual patients may face unique challenges requiring personalized solutions.
Ensuring equitable access to diabetes technology like continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps requires systematic attention to disparities in care delivery. Clinical care pathways must include awareness-building and support systems to help underserved patients access available technologies and treatments. The goal is reaching the broadest possible population with effective diabetes and obesity treatments while addressing the specific needs and barriers faced by underserved communities.
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