Diabetes Health Literacy Among Somali Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in a US Primary Care Setting.
The purpose of this study was to describe diabetes literacy among Somali immigrants with diabetes and its association with diabetes outcomes. Among Somali immigrants in North America, the prevalence of diabetes exceeds that of the general population, and their measures of diabetes control are suboptimal when compared with non-Somali patients. Diabetes literacy is an important mediator of diabetes outcomes in general populations that has not been previously described among Somali immigrants and refugees.



Diabetes literacy was measured using a translated version of the spoken knowledge in low literacy in diabetes (SKILLD) scale among Somali immigrants and refugees with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes outcome measures, including hemoglobin A1C, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and blood pressure, were obtained for each patient. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess associations between diabetes literacy and diabetes outcomes.



Among 50 Somali patients with diabetes who completed the survey, the mean SKILLD score was low (42.2 %). The diabetes outcome measures showed a mean hemoglobin A1C of 8 %, LDL cholesterol of 99.17 mg/dL (2.57 mmol/L), systolic blood pressure of 130.9 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure of 70.2 mmHg. There was no association between diabetes literacy scores and diabetes outcome measures.



Somali patients with diabetes mellitus had low diabetes literacy and suboptimal measures of diabetes disease control. However, we found no association between diabetes literacy and diabetes outcomes. Future work aimed at reduction of diabetes-related health disparities among Somali immigrants and refugees to high-income countries should go beyond traditional means of patient education for low-literacy populations.
Division of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. njeru.jane@mayo.edu.
Jane W
JW
Njeru
Department of Nursing, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Misbil F
MF
Hagi-Salaad
Department of Nursing, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Habibo
H
Haji
Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Stephen S
SS
Cha
Division of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
Mark L
ML
Wieland
D003920:Diabetes Mellitus; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012036:Refugees; D012998:Somalia
Diabetes literacy; Immigrant; Refugee; Somali; Spoken knowledge in low literacy in diabetes (SKILLD)