Updated: February 2024

Author: Diabetes Program, Vermont Department of Health

This indicator, or population measure, is part of our Healthy Vermonters 2030 data set. Read more about how this data helps us understand and improve the well-being of people in Vermont on the Healthy Vermonters 2030 webpage.

Because this data is meant to show how the health of our state changes during the decade from 2020-2030, some indicators may have very few data points for now. Keep checking back to see the progress our public health system and partners are making.

We want to see the percent of adults with diabetes in Vermont who receive formal diabetes self-management education to increase to 57% or more by 2030.

Looking for more data?

• See previous data similar to this indicator from our 2020 Scorecards.
• See the corresponding national Healthy People 2030 objective for the proportion of people getting diabetes education.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) question that addresses diabetes education is “have you ever taken a course or class in how to manage your diabetes yourself?” This is asked of all adults over the age of 18 years who reported having diabetes. BRFSS statewide measures for this indicator have not changed significantly over time. The peak level for this question came in 2007 with a response of 64 percent and the most recent low of 45 percent in 2017. Recent data show that the response has increased since 2017 with a recent response of 50 percent in 2022.

Diabetes self-management education is offered via different programs statewide. The State supports free evidence-based self-management workshops for all people in Vermont called My Healthy Vermont. The workshops are led by professionals or peer community members who are trained by “master trainers”. Another program offered in many areas of the state is called “diabetes self-management education/training” led exclusively by health professionals who are certified diabetes care and education specialists (DCES). These two distinct approaches to diabetes education do not duplicate efforts but rather complement each other in the information they offer. The BRFSS question about diabetes education is purposely intended to be general so that people who respond do not distinguish between the different programs.

The Vermont Department of Health partners with the Vermont Blueprint for Health to oversee administration and data reporting for the diabetes self-management programs statewide. This partnership is vital to increase participation in the My Helathy Vermont diabetes self-management program.

Diabetes education is associated with a reduction of diabetes complications associated with poor quality of life, health care costs and increased morbidity and mortality. Diabetes risk increases with age. Sixteen percent of adults age 65 and older had ever been diagnosed with diabetes in 2022, compared with nine percent of the general population.

All recognized or accredited diabetes education programs led by Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (DCES) are considered by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to have a positive impact on outcome measures such as blood glucose control.

Despite the fact that individuals with Type 2 diabetes who receive diabetes education and support by DCESs show improvement of A1C levels (a blood test which measures the average blood sugar level over the last 3 months) by as much as 1%, the programs remain underutilized in Vermont. In 2023, the Vermont Department of Health diabetes team launched a statewide workgroup to drastically increase the number of recognized and accredited diabetes education programs in Vermont and prioritize access for poorly served populations such as people with disabilities and people of color.

Learn more about Older Vermonters age 65+ and diabetes self-management education.

The Vermont Department of Health Diabetes Program oversees, promotes, and markets the Diabetes Prevention Program and Diabetes Self-Management Program as part of the MyHealthyVT campaign.

National data indicate that diabetes education programs are underutilized. This is also the case in Vermont where the free My Healthy Vermont Workshops are underutilized.

In 2021, the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont Blueprint for Health partnered to improve the administration of My Healthy Vermont to ensure program quality and access. Enrollment numbers have since begun to climb. Current partnerships are also focusing on provider awareness and referral strategies in addition to general promotion.

Increasing the focus on coordination, combined with the formation of a new Diabetes Self-management Education and Support Working Group and the development of a statewide diabetes plan can address barriers to diabetes education and ensure that everyone has access. The Department of Health Diabetes Program also convenes the statewide Diabetes Prevention Coalition.

Beyond increased coordination, improving language access and cultural relevance is a necessary process, vital to enable many in Vermont to receive diabetes education. The Diabetes Program is working closely with health equity partners to build this access and relevance. There is also a focus on building a network of Community Health Workers in Vermont who can connect with priority populations in need of diabetes support.

Decreased program utilization indicates that state program staff and state partners need to do a better job promoting diabetes education options statewide. 

The target of 57% for this indicator was chosen based on historical trends and an ambitious but achievable goal through collective work over the next decade.

Vermont tracks risk behaviors and chronic disease using a telephone survey of adults called the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). Since 1990, Vermont, along with the 49 other states, Washington D.C. and U.S. territories, has participated in the BRFSS with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC and other program funders and partners provide the resources for the Department of Health to carry out the BRFSS survey in Vermont.

Learn more about the BRFSS methodology.