Reaching underserved populations and cultural competence in diabetes education.
Diabetes self-management education has gained in importance over the past decade as research has documented the benefits of such interventions in improving glucose control and reducing diabetes-related complications. Although minority populations bear a disproportionate burden of diabetes, past strategies have not addressed cultural characteristics of groups typically underrepresented in diabetes research. Recent research literature on the development of culturally competent diabetes self-management is summarized and an example of a culturally competent intervention designed for Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans is presented. Recent research is laying the foundation for future intervention development to meet the cultural needs of racial/ethnic groups.
Brown
Sharon A
SA
University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing, 1700 Red River, Austin, TX 78701, USA. sabrown@mail.utexas.edu
Garcia
Alexandra A
AA
Winchell
Maria
M
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003469:Culture; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards