East Harlem has the highest diabetes mortality rate in New York City, NY. Using Community Based Participatory Research principles, the East Harlem Partnership for Diabetes Prevention-a community- academic partnership-formed to build community capacity with a goal to address health disparities in East Harlem. As part of prevention efforts, community partners chose to study the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea and its relationship to pre-diabetes and progression to diabetes. However, community partners insisted any study of sleep apnea go beyond simple assessment to ensure the largely uninsured, minority population enrolled also have access to state of the art diagnosis and treatment. Through compromise and collaboration, the partnership developed a culturally appropriate and scientifically rigorous method to diagnose and treat sleep apnea as part of a novel research program.
Keywords: East Harlem; Obstructive sleep apnea; community capacity building; community-based participatory research; diabetes prevention; underserved communities.