Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase
304928
Experiences managing T2 diabetes shortly after diagnosis among adults of Mexican ethnicity in the US Southwest
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
: 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM
Robin Bonifas, PhD, MSW
,
School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ
Angela Wisniewski, PharmD
,
Family Medicine, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
Laura McKnight, MSW
,
School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ
Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2) disproportionately affects ethnic minority populations, including Latinos of Mexican ethnicity. Proper management is essential to prevent serious health complications; however, little is known about the management practices and challenges faced by this Latino population shortly after diagnosis. This study examined the experiences of Mexican adults living in the U.S. managing and coping with T2 diabetes soon after diagnosis. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study design was employed with 30 adults of Mexican ethnicity in Maricopa County, AZ, recently diagnosed with T2 diabetes (3-24 months). Individual, semi-structured interviews elicited information about their diabetes-related illness experiences; standardized questionnaires captured socio-economic and health status. Results: The mean age of participants was 47; the majority were female (73%), low income (70% < $20,000 annually), and uninsured (83%). Most had been born in Mexico (83%) and had limited English proficiency (70%). Many were diagnosed while seeking care for other health concerns, and several believed a major susto (fright) led them to develop the disease, experienced depression, and delayed proper diabetes management after diagnosis. Most participants were learning to properly manage diabetes by making lifestyle changes, were supported by relatives in these changes, and several positively influenced their family’s health behaviors. Implications: A strengths-based approach can be effective in encouraging proper diabetes management soon after diagnosis by providing health education and care support in their socio-cultural milieu, building on cultural understandings of illness causation to support stress management skills, screening for depression, and capitalizing on family linkages to promote treatment adherence.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Learning Objectives:
Describe the illness experiences of Mexican adults newly diagnosed with diabetes.
Discuss strategies that Mexican adults employ that enable them to effectively manage diabetes in a cultural context.
Identify culturally relevant public health interventions supportive to Mexican adults in the U.S. newly diagnosed with diabetes.
Keyword(s): Chronic Disease Management and Care, Latinos
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal investigator or co-investigator in multiple external and internal grants focusing on the management of various chronic diseases by ethnic minority populations, and am a qualitative research methods expert.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
