Merck Foundation: Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care

Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care (“Bridging the Gap”) is an initiative that aims to improve access to quality diabetes care and reduce health disparities for vulnerable and underserved populations with type 2 diabetes in the U.S. The aims of Bridging the Gap are to:

• Build sustainable partnerships between the health care sector and other sectors to address the medical and social determinants of health
• Redesign health care systems, including the transformation of primary care, to improve diabetes care delivery for vulnerable and underserved populations
• Increase access to high-quality health care for adults with type 2 diabetes and related co-morbidities and complications
• Improve health outcomes for individuals with type 2 diabetes through measures such as better glucose and lipid control

Bridging the Gap programs will:

• Use intersectoral collaborations to address factors inside and outside the health care system that influence diabetes outcomes
• Transform the delivery of primary care, such as team-based care tailored to the patient’s risk level
• Involve multiple levels of the health care system, such as the patient, family/support system, health care team, and health care organization levels
• Use evidence-based innovation to design interventions
• Promote sustainable improvements in the delivery of diabetes care

The Foundation will assess the impact of Bridging the Gap and its programs through a comprehensive cross-site evaluation. The findings and program results will be widely disseminated to advance intersectoral collaborations that help improve diabetes care and reduce health disparities in the United States.

Amount: A total of $10,000,000 is available to award grants of up to $1,500,000 for up to a five-year period. Annual program budgets cannot exceed $300,000 in any single year.

Eligibility: Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that may include the following:

• Health care organizations, including but not limited to health centers (academic and nonacademic), integrated health systems, hospitals, clinics, and community health centers
• Academic institutions
• Community-based or nongovernmental organizations
• Units of state or local governments

Link: http://www.msdresponsibility.com/access-to-health/key-initiatives/bridging-the-gap/

This post was filed under: