Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jun 26, 2025
Date Accepted: Aug 11, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Participants’ responses to a family-centered diabetes self-management education program delivered by digital technologies and facilitated by Community Health Workers
ABSTRACT
Background:
High prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and associated complications disproportionally affect low-income Latino adults with diabetes. An academic-community partnership was established to develop and evaluate ¡Salud, Salud!, an evidence-based family centered diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) program to improve glycemic control and quality of life for low-income Latino adults.
Objective:
Preliminary effectiveness of ¡Salud, Salud! on primary (glycemic control and quality of life) and secondary outcomes (diabetes-related social-psychological measures) was evaluated in a single-arm quasi-experimental study.
Methods:
The study enrolled 81 adults (mean age 48.90, SD 12.57; 70% female; 82% Latino) with T2D or pre-diabetes. ¡Salud, Salud! incorporated evidence-based strategies and practices to empower participants in T2D self-management with social support from family and Community Health Workers (CHWs) and facilitation of digital technologies. DSEMES included family membership in YMCA, individual coaching with CHW, and family-centered T2D self-management training. Trained CHWs delivered the 12-week ¡Salud, Salud! in two YMCA locations in Central Texas.
Results:
Forty-eight participants (59%) completed the 12-week posttest. At the end of the program, the participants had a marginally significant reduction in Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c; -0.30, p ≤ 0.09) and significant increase in proportion of reporting good to excellent health (p≤ 0.003). Significant improvement was also found in T2D self-management-related beliefs, practices and behaviors. Level of participant engagement in ¡Salud, Salud! was mixed.
Conclusions:
Future studies should investigate how to optimize the uptake of evidence-based strategies and enhance participant engagement in T2D self-management practices in low-income adults with diabetes.
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