How neighborhood and local healthcare quality affect eye care for people with diabetes
Official title: The Path to Improving Diabetic Retinopathy Outcomes: Evaluating Neighborhood Characteristics and Healthcare Quality
Funded at Duke University · NIH-11180345 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how where people live and the quality of local care relate to whether people with diabetes get recommended eye exams and follow-up to prevent vision loss.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $201,250 |
| NIH project number | 5R21EY036605-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11180345 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with diabetes who are Medicare beneficiaries (typically age 65+ or otherwise enrolled in Medicare) are the population represented in this work.
✕Less likely to help
Younger people with diabetes who are not on Medicare or anyone without diabetes are unlikely to be included and would not directly benefit from this specific analysis.
What this research studies
If you have diabetes and are a Medicare beneficiary, researchers will use de-identified Medicare records linked to neighborhood disadvantage scores (the Area Deprivation Index) and local healthcare measures to see who gets recommended eye screenings and follow-up care. They will examine patterns over time using repeated-measures statistical models to identify neighborhood, community, and patient factors tied to missed screenings and vision-threatening complications. The work analyzes existing administrative and area-level data rather than enrolling patients in clinics, so there is no travel or clinic visit required to be included in the dataset. The goal is to point to community or health-system targets where outreach or services could improve screening and reduce blindness from diabetic retinopathy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help target outreach and resources to neighborhoods with low screening and follow-up to reduce preventable vision loss from diabetic retinopathy.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has linked neighborhood disadvantage to lower screening and worse health outcomes in other conditions, but applying Medicare data linked to ADI specifically to diabetic retinopathy follow-up is less common and relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Duke University
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Borkar, Durga — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Borkar, Durga
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.