Factors affecting diabetes treatment and patient education among Latinos: results of a preliminary study in Chicago.
Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is a major health problem among Latinos, yet the quality of diabetes treatment among them has not been fully examined.


OBJECTIVE
A pilot study was conducted with adult diabetic patients for the purposes of describing their diabetes-related knowledge and behaviors and evaluating whether these patients were receiving effective outpatient care.


METHODS
Demographic data, health knowledge, and behavioral information was collected using face-to-face interviews with 101 patients diagnosed for at least 1 year at three primary care clinics. The medical record of each interviewee was abstracted for evidence that medical follow-up was being conducted with the recommended frequency.


RESULTS
Most respondents spoke only or mostly Spanish, yet 14% of these patients reported that they had received instruction about diabetes in English alone. A majority of patients exhibited a basic understanding of their disease, and more than half reported positive health behaviors within the past year. Nonetheless, 54% of Puerto Rican Americans and 26% of Mexican-Americans had been admitted to the hospital or had used the emergency room for diabetes-related conditions. Recommended medical procedures were infrequently documented in clinic records.


CONCLUSIONS
Diabetes education was available in Spanish, and patients appeared to have a basic knowledge of the disease process. However, recommended clinical follow-up was not uniformly provided. The large number of diabetes-related hospitalizations may be related to sub-optimal management among at least some of these patients.
Lipton
R
R
University of Illinois, Chicago School of Public Health 60612, USA.
Losey
L
L
Giachello
A L
AL
Corral
M
M
Girotti
M H
MH
Mendez
J J
JJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000592:standards*; D002641:Chicago; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006302:Health Services Research; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires