Co-creating the Diabetes Mobile Clinic: A Community-Grounded Model for Equitable Diabetes Care in Calgary.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Individuals experiencing structural vulnerability face multiple barriers to accessing diabetes specialty care, contributing to disproportionately poor diabetes outcomes, including higher rates of retinopathy, renal replacement therapy, and hospitalizations for glycemic emergencies. Across the literature, patients and health-care providers note that traditional service models do not meet the needs of these populations and that reimagined, flexible approaches to care delivery are needed. This paper describes the co-creation of the Diabetes Mobile Clinic, a community-grounded model designed to bring equitable diabetes care directly into underserved settings. RESULTS: Through the co-creation of the Diabetes Mobile Clinic, 4 descriptive key lessons emerged. First, community engagement built trust and relevance by grounding service design in lived experience and fostering relationships over transactions. Second, partnerships enhanced sustainability and scalability by linking academic, community, and health system leadership through shared power and complementary expertise. Third, embedding lived experience promoted cultural safety by reducing stigma, fostering empathy, and ensuring accountability to community priorities. Finally, flexibility in service delivery overcame access barriers by bringing comprehensive diabetes care directly into community settings and adapting to clients' needs. CONCLUSION: Co-creating the Diabetes Mobile Clinic with individuals with lived experience, clinic leadership, and community organizations has demonstrated early promise in bringing equitable diabetes care directly to populations facing structural vulnerabilities in Calgary. Ongoing studies evaluating the clinic's effectiveness are essential to generate empirical evidence that can support sustained funding and long-term operation.