GCDTR research brief

Risk, Tests, and Calculators Research Brief

A compact guide for using diabetes risk screening, BMI, A1C, blood glucose testing, and referral workflows in diabetes translation studies.

Common Tools and Measures

Short risk tests can help identify people who may benefit from diabetes prevention messaging or clinical follow-up.

BMI can support population-level risk assessment, but teams should consider context, limitations, and complementary measures.

Clinical tests can support diagnosis, monitoring, and intervention outcomes when collected through appropriate clinical workflows.

Diabetes education programs can be included as referral destinations or implementation partners in care pathway studies.

Clarify whether the tool is used for outreach, eligibility, referral, risk communication, or outcome measurement.
Define the setting: clinic, community event, employer program, digital intervention, school, or health system workflow.
Document who administers the tool, where results are stored, and how participants receive follow-up.
Plan referral pathways before screening begins, especially for high-risk results or concerning symptoms.
Evaluate reach, completion, comprehension, referral uptake, equity, and participant experience.

Use accessible language and avoid stigma in risk communication.
Offer language support and culturally relevant examples when possible.
Minimize data burden by collecting only information needed for the study or care pathway.
Coordinate with clinical partners when results may require medical follow-up.