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Deverts, Zupa, Kieffer, Gonzalez, Guajardo, Valbuena, Piatt, Yabes, Lalama, Heisler, Rosland. Patient and family engagement in culturally-tailored diabetes self-management education in a Hispanic community. Patient education and counseling. 2025 May 1; 134:108669, DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2025.108669.
Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects. OBJECTIVES: Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is effective in improving outcomes among adults with diabetes (AWD); but engagement in DSME has been lower among Hispanic AWD. We examined factors predicting engagement of Hispanic AWD in culturally tailored DSME that included a family/friend ''support person''. METHODS: 222 predominantly Hispanic AWD enrolled in DSME with a support person (SP), half of the AWD-SP pairs participated in pair-focused (''FAM-ACT'') DSME and the others in patient-focused DSME. Enrollment survey and health record-based participant characteristics were compared to program attendance data. RESULTS: On average, AWD completed 3.8 of 6 and SPs 2.6 of 6 sessions. Engaged AWD (attended ≥4/6 DSME sessions) were more likely to live apart from their SP, have HbA1c ≥ 9 % (11.8 mmol/L), and currently prioritize diabetes among other competing demands. Engaged AWD in FAM-ACT were more likely to have SPs who also met engagement criteria (attended ≥3 DSME sessions), and SPs with pre-diabetes and high ''patient activation''. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic AWD who co-attended with family supporters, had higher glycemic levels, and ability to prioritize diabetes management were more engaged in culturally-tailored DSME. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Engaging family supporters and focusing on those with current health and personal motivation may increase Hispanic adult engagement in DSME.
