A path to success: Convening service providers and patients to understand diabetes prevention care referral pathways and co-develop a research agenda for the interior of BC

General practitioners (GP) are essential in diabetes prevention due to the amount of time they interact with patients and the screening tests that they request and review. Once a GP identifies a patient as being at high risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) they have the ability to refer this individual to publicly available education and prevention programs. However, in rural and urban locations of the interior region of BC, GPs are failing to refer individuals identified as being at high risk of T2D to diabetes prevention initiatives in the community. This represents a major block in the pathway to improving health for those at high risk of T2D. We need to collaborate with individuals involved in the screening, diagnosis and management of prediabetes in the interior of BC to a) uncover the barriers and facilitators to referrals to diabetes prevention programs or initiatives; b) Establish how individuals at high risk of T2D can access diabetes prevention care by identifying potential pathways to care that are acceptable to individuals responsible for care; and c) Co-develop a research agenda with health care professionals to devise, trial, and ultimately test out new potential pathways of care for patients at risk of T2D.