Improving Cultural Humility and Competency in Diabetes Care for Primary Care Providers.

Abstract

As type 2 diabetes continues to plague the United States and the world at an increasingly alarming rate, the role of primary care providers (PCPs) grows ever more crucial. PCPs can help patients prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, provide early diagnosis, and assist patients in maintaining glycemic and metabolic control once a diagnosis has been made. Diabetes is a largely self-managed chronic disease, making patient education vital to the health and wellness of patients. Because diabetes prevalence and related mortality disproportionally affect non-White individuals, PCPs and other health care professionals must learn to connect and communicate effectively with patients of different cultures and backgrounds. Thus, the goal of this article is to highlight the health disparities that exist among patients with diabetes and to give PCPs a framework to improve diabetes treatment through cultural competency and humility. Maria is a 57-year-old, Spanish-speaking woman with a medical history of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, who presents to your clinic to establish care. Through an interpreter, you learn that she immigrated from Mexico to the United States 2 years ago and lives with her children and grandchildren. This is her first visit to a doctor since she moved to the United States. Maria ran out of her medications about 1 year ago and reports feeling excessively thirsty and fatigued. She also reports that she wakes up several times each night to urinate. She is worried about her diabetes. Her sister, who still lives in Mexico, recently had to get her foot amputated as a result of diabetes-related complications, and her brother just had a stroke. She takes a daily 30-minute walk around her neighborhood, and her diet is a mixture of traditional Mexican foods such as tortillas, rice, and beans and a typical Western diet, including fast food and …