Faculty Publications

Diabetes Self-Management Activities For Latinos Living In Non-Metropolitan Rural Communities: A Snapshot Of An Underserved Rural State

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Diabetes mellitus, Hispanic Americans, Iowa, Midwestern United States, Rural population, Self care, Type 2

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health

Volume

14

Issue

6

First Page

990

Last Page

998

Abstract

The Latino community continues to grow in the rural Midwest, and diabetes is a pertinent disease for research in this demographic. Patient self-management is an important aspect of comprehensive care for diabetes and may mitigate complications. A cross-sectional survey assessed various activities including self-monitoring of blood glucose, personal foot inspection, diet adherence, and diabetes self-management education. Less than half of the sample performed self-monitoring of blood glucose daily (40 %), adhered strictly to special diabetes diet recommendations (44 %), or attended a diabetes self-management education class (48 %). Participants advised on personal foot inspection were three times more likely to perform the self-care activity. Improvements are indicated in these self-management activities. Further research is needed to discern disparities and barriers in self-monitoring of blood glucose among this target population. An increased emphasis on enrollment in diabetes self-management classes should target foreign-born Latinos with lower levels of education. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

Original Publication Date

1-1-2012

DOI of published version

10.1007/s10903-012-9602-x

Link to Full Text

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