College of Social and Behavioral Science
78 Culturally-Responsive Diabetes Prevention in Hispanic Communities in Utah
Jessica Cisneros-Macias; Katherine Baucom; and Brynn Meulenberg
Faculty Mentor: Katherine Baucom (Psychology, University of Utah)
Diabetes is the 6th leading cause of death by disease and the 7th leading cause of death overall in the U.S. (CDC, 2024), which makes it crucial to create programs that are targeted at diabetes prevention. Hispanics have the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes of all racial/ethnic groups (22%; Cheng, 2019), while being the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the USA (Census, 2020). Lifestyle intervention has been shown to lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes (DPPRG, 2002). Unfortunately, real-world translations have not been as effective in the Hispanic community. Lifestyle coaches working primarily with Hispanic participants have identified that a lack of family support makes lifestyle intervention less effective as they are less willing to participate (Aguirre, 2021). With all this taken into account, there needs to be a better, more effective method for diabetes prevention that is specifically tailored to the needs of the Hispanic community and their culture.
The CDC National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) is a year-long lifestyle intervention that aims to facilitate 5-7% weight loss through increased physical activity and nutrition change (CDC, 2024). This program has been delivered in English and Spanish to target Hispanic communities with higher type 2 diabetes prevalence rates. Part of the reason the CDC curriculum is less effective for the Hispanic participants is low enrollment and retention rates in the Hispanic community (Ely et al., 2017). Thus, the National DPP does not appear to meet the needs of Hispanic communities. Familism, a social pattern in which the family assumes a position of ascendance over individual interests (Merriam-Webster), is a commonly held value in the Hispanic community. Familism is positively correlated with physical health for example, those with higher levels of familism have been found to have increased/better mental and physical health due to the increase in support (Corona, 2019). Due to this, implementing an adapted family-based lifestyle intervention curriculum designed to engage the Hispanic community effectively is extremely valuable.
The HEART lab and a community-based organization (Alliance Community Services) developed the ADIOS T2D project, which aims to adapt the National DPP curriculum to be more culturally relevant to the Hispanic/Latinx community. Aim 1 was previously implemented to inform the creation of an adaptation of the program that would best meet the needs of the Hispanic community with community partner feedback. This aim included Community Health Workers (CHW) delivery of the National DPP curriculum in Spanish (PrevengaT2). Participants were Hispanic adults at high risk for type 2 diabetes, along with an adult famil