Charlotte Thrall
Arizona State University, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, USA
Title: Implementation of Culturally Competent Educational Interventions for Adult Latinos with Type 2 Diabetes
Biography
Biography: Charlotte Thrall
Abstract
This project implemented a culturally modified diabetes education program to improve self-management and clinical outcomes of Latinos with Type 2 Diabetes.
Latinos, the fastest growing minority in the United States, are among the most affected populations by the diabetes epidemic. Disease intervention strategies focused on the unique factors of lifestyle, cultural beliefs, socioeconomic status, and access to health care, while presenting information in a manner congruent with the Latino culture. Chronic disease self-management is key in improving disease outcomes, and there is strong evidence in the literature supporting the benefits of culturally competent interventions to improve disease outcomes and self-management within Latino populations.
A pre and post study design utilizing the RE-AIM framework was used to obtain comparison data regarding outcomes of culturally competent interventions of Latino adults with Type 2 Diabetes, who were ages 18 through 64 years, could read and understand Spanish, and had a baseline glycosylated hemoglobin of 8.0% or higher (n=12). The Stanford Model for the Spanish Diabetes Self-management Program was adopted in Arizona by the Department of Health and Human Services, and was used for the educational intervention. Six weekly sessions, 2.5 hours each in length, were facilitated by 2 Community Health Workers (CHWs), one or both of whom have diabetes themselves. All sessions were presented in Spanish without translators, were highly interactive, and included selected family and friends.
Outcome data includes BMI, HbA1c, and patient satisfaction.
Project results align with literature, including decreases in HbA1c, while reflecting barriers to program implementation among this population. With understanding of possible barriers, Advanced Practice Nurses can utilize this educational intervention to improve diabetic patient outcomes in the Latino community.