Abstract
Objective To explore the perceptions of dietary habits and type 2 diabetes risk among Congolese immigrants living in the US. Methods Data were collected from 20 in-depth interviews and photo-elicitation techniques conducted with Congolese immigrants. The PEN-3 cultural model was used as a guide to analyze the data collected. Results Participants identified positive, existential, and negative perceptions, enablers, and nurturers associated with dietary habits and type 2 diabetes risk. Participants also acknowledged intrinsic cultural ways of understanding and interpreting the interaction between dietary habits and type 2 diabetes risk among the Congolese people which may influence their health-seeking practices. Conclusions The findings underscore the importance of culture and how sociocultural factors may play a role with designing culturally appropriate interventions aimed at addressing the risk for type 2 diabetes among Congolese immigrants in the US.
Highlights
The incidence of type 2 diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate within the United States (US) and on a global scale [1, 2]
We found that the mean age was 43.7 ± 6.63 and 44.7 ± 5.46 years among male and female participants, respectively
The emergent themes were categorized according to the PEN-3 domains
Summary
The incidence of type 2 diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate within the United States (US) and on a global scale [1, 2]. According to the International Diabetes Federation [3], the global population of adults with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes is projected to increase from 382 million in 2013 to 592 million by 2035, with type 2 diabetes accounting for 90–95% of cases [4]. According to the CDC [6], small cities in the US like Champaign, Illinois—which has a relatively large number of Congolese immigrants [7, 8]—had a proportion of diagnosed diabetes that has risen slightly from an estimated 7.1% in 2009 to 8% in 2013. The DRC reported a prevalence of 1.7 million cases of diabetes out of a total 14 million diabetics in Africa in 2015. The prevalence of overweight and obesity diagnoses—often a consequence of losing traditional dietary habits and adapting unhealthy behaviors— is found to be a contributing factor to the epidemic
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