A diabetes prevention program for South Asian ethnic minorities families

Abstract

Background and Objectives: With a growing population of the South Asian ethnic minority (EM) people in Hong Kong, the diabetes prevention program deserves more attention because they are identified as a group at high risk of diabetes. Through 1-month training of adolescent ambassadors for delivering a 3-month behavioral change program, we aim to enhance diabetic knowledge, reduce sugar-sweetened drinks, increase physical activity level and reduce sedentary activities among South Asian adolescents, parents and/or grandparents. Methods: 60 secondary school EM students between 12-18 years of age attended the ambassador training workshops and 116 EM family members of the students, including parents or grandparents received the 3-month behavioral change intervention program. To evaluate the effectiveness of the programme, parents/grandparents were invited to self-complete a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire which includes a 14-item Brief Diabetes Knowledge Test (General), Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, frequency of sugar-sweetened drinks and satisfaction level of the ambassador training workshops. Results: The overall satisfaction of the educational workshops was high with 86.7% of the adolescents enjoyed their participation. By comparing the BDKT-General test scores of pre- and post-intervention, there was no significant change in their diabetic knowledge (pre-test = 51.1±16.6, post-test = 46.4±16.1, p = .245). For sugar-sweetened drinks, there was around one-third of the participants (31%) reported a change of having sugar-sweetened drinks with less than original, from 1-3 less to ≥4 less. For vigorous-intensity activities at work, 20.7% reported that they had increase in their involvement. For moderate-intensity at work, 13.8% of them reported that they involved more. For vigorous-intensity sports activities, there were 22.4% participants reported an increase in engagement. For moderate-intensity sports activities, 19% participants reported doing more sports. Conclusions: This is the first culture-specific family-based diabetes prevention health promotion program for EM people in Hong Kong. It was not able to enhance the diabetes knowledge but was able to promote reduction in the frequency of sugary-drinks intake and partially increased the physical activities in EM parents and grandparents. The results supported the necessity of cultural sensitivity and competence in health promotion for EM families.