Evaluation of Diabetes Education for Latinos Living in a Metropolitan Area

• Main Author: Potter, Anna Rockett
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Archive @ GSU 2009
• Subjects: cultural competence; diabetes education; diabetes; Latino health; Public Health
• Online Access: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/iph_theses/62; http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=iph_theses

Diabetes is a worldwide epidemic, especially as the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes has increased in recent years. Minorities are disproportionately affected by the disease and, at the same time, often have less access to resources including medication and education. The Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program (ELDEP) is a culturally component diabetes education program aimed at promoting increased knowledge about diabetes disease management within the Latino population of metropolitan Atlanta. The program considers cultural competence and acculturation theory in its learning structure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ELDEP’s effectiveness in increasing knowledge of diabetes, healthy behaviors, and disease management in the study population. The study evaluated changes in knowledge for those participants who attended only the initial intervention and those patients who attended both the initial session and at least one follow-up intervention. Data was collected through a selfreport questionnaire completed by patients at the beginning of each intervention session. The results of this study indicate that specific participant characteristics may be associated with attendance at follow-up sessions. Participant knowledge about certain factors related to diabetes also increased. Based on these results, recommendations will be made to the program staff at ELDEP.