Chronic Disease

A review and summary of Rural Health Scholar research that addresses issues related to chronic disease on Martha's Vineyard.

Island Health Care

General Scholar Observations

  • People with chronic diseases, especially those who are housebound have a greater need for food access services and/or medically tailored meals,  2012 RHS Presentation 
  • Patients suffering from chronic disease are closely related to the presence and inflow of opioid drugs into our community, suggest better monitoring and collaboration,  2016 RHS Presentation 
  • MV chronic disease patient population at a glance,  2020 RHS Presentation 
    • 167 oncology patients at MVH
    • Increasing number of patients receiving dialysis treatment at MVH
    • Approximately 30 hospice patients at a given time
    • Approximately 100 households at-risk of homelessness annually
  • Current advocates for chronically ill population on MV,  2020 RHS Presentation 
    • Social workers
    • PHNs
    • PCPs and Specialty Care providers
    • System administrators
    • Elderly advocates (individuals)
    • Disability advocates (individuals)
    • Family members and caregivers
  • Chronic disease burden among elders by level of prevalence (and estimated to grow) Osteoarthritis, history of falls, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Diabetes, Respiratory Disease, Stroke, Congestive heart failure, Parkinson’s,  2013 RHS Presentation 
    • Collectively anticipated to affect ~7,500 elders by 2060
    • Increased need for skilled nursing

Scholar Recommendations

  • N/A

Summary of the Community's response so far No updates to share at this time (Updated 6.17.2022)

Chronic Disease and Food Access

Scholar Observations

  • “For some of the chronically ill, it is not necessarily a question of whether we can get them food, but whether we can get them human contact customary for eating.”,  2020 RHS Presentation 
  • Barriers to food access for chronically ill population,  2020 RHS Presentation 
    • Financial, transportation, homelessness or homes with inadequate cooking facilities, stigma of using food/charitable resources, lack of connection to resources, nutrition education and food options are not medically tailored
    • Chronic disease advocates cited the following as needs to address food insecurity among chronically ill patients,  2020 RHS Presentation 
    • > > CHW model, on-site MVH food pantry, unlimited SNAP, neighborhood program, volunteer-based delivery network, community kitchens, community farming, towns coming together

Scholar Recommendations

  • N/A

Summary of the Commuity's response so far

No updates to share at this time (Updated 6.17.2022)