Closing the indigenous health gap in Canada: Results from the TransFORmation of IndiGEnous PrimAry HEAlthcare delivery (FORGE AHEAD) program.

AIMS: TransFORmation of IndiGEnous PrimAry HEAlthcare Delivery (FORGE AHEAD) partnered with local clinical and community teams in 11 First Nations (FN) communities across Canada to develop quality improvement (QI) initiatives aimed at improving T2DM. METHODS: Pre-post mixed-methods case study design was used. The 18-month intervention included community and clinical readiness, development of a community diabetes registry and clinical system, and QI activities. Participants consisted of community members, 18 yrs and older, with diabetes. Changes in clinical outcomes and clinical practice guideline (CPG) recommendations were assessed pre and post intervention using multilevel regression (patients nested within communities) adjusted forindividual andcommunity baseline characteristics. RESULTS: No significant change in HbA1c orsBP, but a small reduction indBP(-0.75 mmHg, p < 0.05) and LDL (-0.09 mmol/L, p < 0.05) was observed in 2008 adults with T2DM (mean age: 60·5 (SD:14·6) years; female: 57·2%). Individuals not at CPG targets at baseline had significant reductions in: %HbA1c (N = 616): -0.40 (95%CI:-0·55,-0·24),sBP (N = 561): -7·67 mmHg (95%CI:-9·23, -5·72),dBP (N = 291): -7·46 mmHg (95%CI:-8·69, -6·26), LDL (N = 450): -0·37mmo/l (95%CI:-0·44, -0·29).Annual HbA1c (OR: 1·95; 95%CI:1·66, 2·29), BP (OR: 1·78; 95%CI:1·52, 2·09), LDL (OR: 1·27; 95%CI:1·10, 1·47) and CKD screening (OR: 6·37; 95%CI:5·16, 7·92)increased but retinopathy screening decreased (OR: 0·68; 95%CI:0·57, 0·82). No significant change in foot exams (OR: 0·97; 95%CI:0·76, 1·23) or BMI recordings (OR: 0·96; 95%CI:0·82, 1·12) was seen. Overall, individualsweremorelikely to receive ≥75% of CPG recommended services compared to baseline (OR: 1·51; 95%CI:1·27, 1·80). CONCLUSIONS: FORGE AHEAD is the first Canadian study to demonstrate that a FN community-led QI intervention can lead to diabetes improvements.

National Survey of Indigenous primary healthcare capacity and delivery models in Canada: the TransFORmation of IndiGEnous PrimAry HEAlthcare delivery (FORGE AHEAD) community profile survey.

BACKGROUND: There is a significant deficiency of national health information for Indigenous peoples in Canada. This manuscript describes the Community Profile Survey (CPS), a community-based, national-level survey designed to identify and describe existing healthcare delivery, funding models, and diabetes specific infrastructure and programs in Indigenous communities. METHODS: The CPS was developed collaboratively through FORGE AHEAD and the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada. Regional and federal engagement and partnerships were built with Indigenous organizations to establish regionally-tailored distribution of the 8-page CPS to 440 First Nations communities. Results were collected (one survey per community) and reported in strata by region, with descriptive analyses performed on all variables. Results were shared with participating communities and regional/federal partners through tailored reports. RESULTS: A total of 84 communities completed the survey (19% response rate). The majority of communities had a health centre/office to provide service to their patients with diabetes, with limited on-reserve hospitals for ambulatory or case-sensitive conditions. Few healthcare specialists were located on-site, with patients frequently travelling off-site (> 40 km) for diabetes-related complications. The majority of healthcare professionals on-site were Health Directors, Community Health Nurses, and Home Care Nurses. Many communities had a diabetes registry but few reported a diabetes surveillance system. Regional variation in healthcare services, diabetes programs, and funding models were noted, with most communities engaging in some type of innovative strategy to improve care for patients with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: The CPS is the first community-based, national-level survey of its kind in Canada. Although the response rate was low, the CPS was distributed and successfully administered across a broad range of First Nations communities, and future considerations would benefit from a governance structure and leadership that strengthens community engagement, and a longitudinal research approach to increase the representativeness of the data. This type of information is important for communities and regions to inform decision making (maintain successes, and identify areas for improvement), strengthen health service delivery and infrastructure, increase accessibility to healthcare personnel, and allocate funding and/or resources to build capacity and foster a proactive chronic disease prevention and management approach for Indigenous communities across Canada. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current ClinicalTrial.gov protocol ID NCT02234973 . Registered: September 9, 2014.

The FORGE AHEAD clinical readiness consultation tool: a validated tool to assess clinical readiness for chronic disease care mobilization in Canada's First Nations.

BACKGROUND: Given the astounding rates of diabetes and related complications, and the barriers to providing care present in Indigenous communities in Canada, intervention strategies that take into account contextual factors such as readiness to mobilize are needed to maximize improvements and increase the likelihood of success and sustainment. As part of the national FORGE AHEAD Program, we sought to develop, test and validate a clinical readiness consultation tool aimed at assessing the readiness of clinical teams working on-reserve in First Nations communities to participate in quality improvement (QI) to enhance diabetes care in Canada. METHODS: A literature review was conducted to identify existing readiness tools. The ABCD - SAT was adapted using a consensus approach that emphasized a community-based participatory approach and prioritized the knowledge and wisdom held by community members. The tool was piloted with a group of 16 people from 7 provinces and 11 partnering communities to assess language use, clarity, relevance, format, and ease of completion using examples. Internal reliability analysis and convergence validity were conducted with data from 53 clinical team members from 11 First Nations communities (3-5 per community) who have participated in the FORGE AHEAD program. RESULTS: The 27-page Clinical Readiness Consultation Tool (CRCT) consists of five main components, 21 sub-components, and 74 items that are aligned with the Expanded Chronic Care Model. Five-point Likert scale feedback from the pilot ranged from 3.25 to 4.5. Length of the tool was reported as a drawback but respondents noted that all the items were needed to provide a comprehensive picture of the healthcare system. Results for internal consistency showed that all sub-components except for two were within acceptable ranges (0.77-0.93). The Team Structure and Function sub-component scale had a moderately significant positive correlation with the validated Team Climate Inventory, r = 0.45, p < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: The testing and validation of the FORGE AHEAD CRCT demonstrated that the tool is acceptable, valid and reliable. The CRCT has been successfully used to support the implementation of the FORGE AHEAD Program and the health services changes that partnering First Nations communities have designed and undertaken to improve diabetes care. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Current ClinicalTrial.gov protocol ID NCT02234973 . Date of Registration: July 30, 2014.

Prevalence, determinants and co-morbidities of chronic kidney disease among First Nations adults with diabetes: results from the CIRCLE study.

BACKGROUND: Indigenous peoples worldwide are experiencing elevated rates of type 2 diabetes and its complications. To better understand the disproportionate burden of diabetic end stage renal disease (ESRD) among Canadian First Nations people (FN), we examined prevalence, determinants, and co-morbidities of chronic kidney disease (CKD) within this population. METHODS: The 2007 Canadian FN Diabetes Clinical Management and Epidemiologic (CIRCLE) study conducted a cross-sectional national medical chart audit of 885 FN adults with type 2 diabetes to assess quality of diabetes care. In this sub-study, participants were divided by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR in ml/min/1.73 m2), as well as by albuminuria level in those with eGFRs = > 60. Those with eGFRs = > 60 and negative albuminuria were considered to have normal/near normal kidney function (non-CKD). Using univariate and logistic regression analysis, they were compared with participants having eGFRs = > 60 plus albuminuria (CKD-alb) and with participants having eGFRs <60 (CKD-eGFR <60). RESULTS: While 84.5% of total CIRCLE participants had eGFRs = > 60, almost 60% of the latter had CKD-alb. Of the 15.5% of total participants with CKD-eGFR <60, 80% had eGFRs 30-60 (Stage 3 CKD) but over 10% (1.6% of total participants) had ESRD. Independent determinants of CKD-alb were male gender and increasing diabetes duration, systolic BP, A1C and total cholesterol. These plus smoking rates also discriminated between FN with micro- and macro-albuminuria. Independent determinants of CKD-eGFR <60 were increasing age at diabetes diagnosis, diabetes duration, total cholesterol and systolic BP. However, participants with CKD-eGFR <60 also displayed a decreasing mean age of diabetes diagnosis as eGFR declined. Micro-vascular co-morbidities were significantly associated with CKD-alb but both micro- and macro-vascular co-morbidities were associated with CKD-eGFR <60. Only 35-40% of participants with CKD used insulin. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalences of CKD-alb and early CKD-eGFR <60 among diabetic FN were largely related to modifiable and treatable risk factors. However, an earlier age of diabetes diagnosis and longer duration of diabetes characterized those with ESRD. These findings suggest that a failure to meet current standards of diabetes care interacting with an age-related survival benefit contribute to the disproportionate burden of ESRD among FN and possibly other Indigenous peoples.