Promoting diabetes self-management among African Americans: An educational intervention in Prince George's County, Maryland

Diabetes is a major national health problem that impacts African Americans more seriously than other population groups. African Americans experience higher rates of complications from the disease, higher rates of disability from complications, and higher death rates than other groups. The purpose of this project was to increase knowledge and self-management of diabetes among African American adults 40 years of age and older diagnosed with Type II diabetes. The goals were to 1) increase knowledge about diabetes, 2) improve adherence with recommended standards for exercise, diet, and medications, and 3) improve glycemic control. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest comparison group design was used. Four educational sessions were provided to participants in the intervention group. Content areas included information about diabetes and its complications, risk factors, proper diet, recommendations for exercise, medications, monitoring blood glucose, and other care. Various teaching strategies were utilized, including discussion, games, demonstration, and videos. Patient Navigators were trained to provide diabetes education and follow-up according to the participant's stage of change based on the Transtheoretical Model. Follow-up by phone at the scheduled intervals focused on obtaining data about diet recall, self report of exercise activities, diabetes medications taken, barriers to adhering to recommendations and offering suggestions to resolve identified problems. The control group was offered the educational session at the completion of education of the intervention group. Differences between baseline and completion measures and between intervention and comparison groups at various intervals were determined by t-tests. Policy issues and implications will be discussed.