645-P: Diabetes Pueblo: A Community Health Worker–Led Educational Intervention for Latinos with T2D

Abstract

In the U.S., Latinos have the highest proportion of type 2 diabetes (T2D) of any racial/ethnic group. Addressing cultural barriers and limited access to diabetes education may improve diabetes care and outcomes in this population. Diabetes Pueblo (DP) is an 11-week, culturally tailored, diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) program led by Latinos in the community (Promotores). The program has two modules, diabetes fundamentals (DF) and insulin success. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of DP through class attendance and participant satisfaction. Additional endpoints included biometric data, HbA1c, the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ), and the Insulin Treatment Appraisal Scale (ITAS). Participants were 25 Latinos with T2D (20 completers) with a mean age of 55.8±10.5 years (64% female, 92% born in Latin America, 39% completed high school). Class attendance averaged 82%. Small nonsignificant improvements were observed in HbA1c, DSMQ, and ITAS positive appraisal at the completion of the program. ITAS negative appraisal scores improved significantly from 43 to 38 (p=0.02). Participant feedback reported improvement in distinguishing between diabetes and prediabetes (p=0.01). Post-class focus groups revealed very high satisfaction with the program, including improved understanding of how behaviors impact health and that insulin initiation does not indicate personal failure. There were no significant changes in biometrics possibly due to the short study duration. These results demonstrate the program’s feasibility through high attendance, program approval, improved diabetes self-management knowledge and acceptance of insulin therapy. This highlights the importance of using a culturally appropriate education program taught by community health workers for higher attendance and engagement. Future research may include larger-scale evaluations of the program with long-term follow-up to detect changes in biometric data. Disclosure J. Creason: None. C. Axelrod: None. M.M. Conneely: None. C. Landeros: None. M. Diaz-Rea: None. A.D. Xi: Employee; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. R. Paczkowski: Employee; Spouse/Partner; Amgen. Employee; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. B. Reed: Employee; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. F. Gelsey: Employee; Self; Lilly Diabetes. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Lilly Diabetes. K.N. Castorino: Research Support; Self; Abbott, Dexcom, Inc., Medtronic, Mylan, Novo Nordisk Inc. Funding Eli Lilly and Company