“You Have to Control It However You Can”: Type 2 Diabetes Management in a Hispanic Farmworker Community in Rural Florida

Abstract

Latino farmworkers carry a disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes and face numerous challenges to accessing health care. This research explores beliefs about disease causality, self-management practices, and barriers to diabetes care among diabetics in a Mexican farmworking community in Florida. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted utilizing free list elicitation, open-ended questions, and closed-ended demographic questions. Participants' most recent hemoglobin A1C blood test results and Body Mass Index were obtained. Most participants were knowledgeable about recommended behavioral modifications and attempted to incorporate them into their daily routine, yet the majority had poor A1C levels and were overweight. Participants held dual cultural belief models about diabetes and used various complementary and alternative medicines to account for the political and economic barriers to diabetes management. Barriers to self-management include high cost of glucometer test strips and difficulty adhering to a diabetic diet. Addressing barriers to care, such as limited income and high cost of diabetic supplies, is integral to improving diabetes self-management and health outcomes. Anthropologically informed research, such as this study, is particularly well-positioned to make visible how social and healthcare policies are embodied.