NICH LAUNCH (Leading Emerging Adults in Understanding and Navigating Challenges in Health Care)—Multisystem Intervention Targeting Young Adults with Diabetes Who Have Transitioned Care and Are High Risk, High Needs, and High Cost

Michael A. Harris, PhD

Professor, Pediatrics,
Oregon Health & Science University

What is your presentation about?
I will be talking about an intervention that we adapted from NICH (Novel Interventions in Children’s Health care) to address the unique needs of young adults living with diabetes (aka, NICH LAUNCH). This intervention targets those young adults who are struggling with managing the demands of diabetes while also dealing with significant social challenges such that their health is deteriorating and they are experiencing repeated diabetic ketoacidosis. NICH LAUNCH is a community and home-based intervention that identifies and addresses social factors that drive poor diabetes outcomes through real-time, 24/7 advocacy, skills training, systems navigation, and resource access.

How do you hope your presentation will impact diabetes research or care?
While there is widespread discussion on the significance of social determinants of health for individuals living with diabetes, there is a notable gap in research focusing on how these factors specifically influence diabetes outcomes in young adults. Furthermore, there is a lack of exploration into interventions that target these social determinants of health for young adults managing diabetes. The aim of this presentation is to provoke a shift in perspective within the scientific and clinical communities by shedding light on the impact of social determinants of health on the outcomes of young adults with diabetes, it is hoped that this will pave the way for innovative interventions and strategies tailored to this demographic.

How did you become involved with this area of diabetes research or care?
I became involved in the care of and research on young adults living with diabetes when I was working with a pediatric endocrinology fellow, Dr. Jennifer Raymond, who had a particular interest in this population. At the time, Dr. Raymond was awarded a grant from the American Diabetes Association® (ADA) to co-develop, with pediatric and adult diabetes health care providers, an intervention targeting older adolescents in more successfully transitioning from pediatric to adult diabetes care. Dr. Raymond has gone on to develop CoYoT1 Clinic serving a broader young adult diabetes population while I adapted NICH for the subgroup of young adults whose needs exceed our current care models.