This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Thompson, J. R. Articles by Flores, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Thompson, J. R. Articles by Flores, C. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Advancing Diabetes Self-Management in the Mexican American Population

A Community Health Worker Model in a Primary Care Setting

From La Clinica de La Raza, Oakland, California.

Correspondence to Joan R. Thompson, PhD, MPH, RD, CDE, La Clinica de La Raza, 1515 Fruitvale Avenue, Oakland, CA 94601 (jthompson{at}laclinica.org).

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to pilot test the effectiveness of health promoters trained in the transtheoretical model of change to provide diabetes management education and support to Mexican Americans in a primary care setting.

Methods

The study site was an urban community health center in Oakland, California. This study reports on 142 patients who were enrolled for at least 1 year in the program. Community health workers acted as extenders of the medical staff to facilitate behavior change, using patient-centered counseling. This was a 1-group pretest/posttest pilot study. Descriptive statistics and the paired-sample t test were used to compare the change in clinical outcome measures from baseline to 6 months and 1 year. Statistically significant changes were correlated with frequency of community health worker contact.

Results

The paired-sample t test showed significant reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline to 1 year (P < .004). Reductions were also seen in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood pressure, but they were not statistically significant. When stratified by gender, women showed a greater reduction in HbA1c than men at 1 year. Patients with a higher frequency ofcommunity health worker contact showed a greater decline in HbA1c level.

Conclusions

The pilot study demonstrates that community health workers, as an integral part of the health care team, are effective agents in providing self-management support to persons with diabetes.

The Diabetes Educator, Vol. 33, No. Supplement 6, 159S-165S (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0145721707304077


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. A. Brownson, T. J. Hoerger, E. B. Fisher, and K. E. Kilpatrick Cost-effectiveness of Diabetes Self-management Programs in Community Primary Care Settings The Diabetes Educator, September 1, 2009; 35(5): 761 - 769. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. B Fisher, J. A. Earp, S. Maman, and A. Zolotor Cross-cultural and international adaptation of peer support for diabetes management Fam. Pract., March 10, 2009; (2009) cmp013v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Nettles and A. Belton An overview of training curricula for diabetes peer educators Fam. Pract., January 8, 2009; (2009) cmn102v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. B. Fisher, C. A. Brownson, M. L. O'Toole, V. V. Anwuri, and G. Shetty Perspectives on Self-Management From the Diabetes Initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Diabetes Educator, June 1, 2007; 33(Supplement_6): 216S - 224S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]