Impact of culturally tailored shared medical appointments on diabetes self-care ability and knowledge in African Americans

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) continues to disproportionately affect African Americans, significantly impacting morbidity and mortality. Research suggests that addressing barriers that stem from socioeconomic circumstances, systemic inequalities, biological factors, and cultural factors may positively influence biometric indicators of health and diabetes control. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate a diabetes shared medical appointment (SMA) model program that has been culturally tailored to address the unique social determinants of health barriers faced by an inner city African American population in Norfolk, Virginia. METHODS: A pilot study using a within-group pretest-posttest design was conducted. Information was collected from self-report surveys that included the Modified Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test, the Diabetes Self-Efficacy Scale, and researcher generated surveys before and after a single-session three-hour SMA program. KEY RESULTS: The program increased perceived diabetes self-care confidence and perceived overall diabetes knowledge levels. Increases in knowledge scores were seen but not statistically significant. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the program model. DISCUSSION: Findings indicate that this model is an effective and engaging method of improving self-care ability and diabetes disease management knowledge among African Americans. Addressing unique circumstances and barriers experienced by this population may be more effective than usual traditional care approaches.