Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons^™

An Apple A Day Keeps Diabetes At Bay: Incentivizing Participation In Diabetes Self-Management Education With Fruit & Vegetable Vouchers, Angie Mejia, Mary Katherine A. Schutt, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

Diabetes is an urgent public health problem in the U.S., with 30.3 million people currently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. This research brief describes the results of a 12-month, diabetes self-management education and fruit and vegetable purchase assistance intervention designed to improve diabetes self-management knowledge and health outcomes among adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Findings suggest that small incentives for fruit and vegetable purchases are associated with higher educational program attendance, increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and decreased weight and blood sugar among low-income adults with Type 2 diabetes.