Decreasing Diabetes in the African American Community Though Health Education
Overview of Two Articles
The article by Kanaya et al. (2012) focused on a control experiment involving 230 participants over the course of a year, with 6 month and 12 month outcomes measured to determine differences between the control group and the intervention group. The methodology consisted of an intervention group received individualized lifestyle counseling delivered primarily via telephone by health department counselors, while the control group was simply wait-listed. Data collection was achieved through several clinics, and study staff was blinded to remove or prevent bias.
Overall, the researchers found that the Live Well, Be Well program was highly effective in reducing diabetes risk factors among its participants. In particular, the program was successful in helping participants lose weight and improving diets. It showed that telephone counseling can be an effective way to help reduce the risk of diabetes in lower income communities like these.
The sample size was sufficiently suitable for a study of this size. Individuals were selected based on specific health conditions, and participants were recruited from 4 distinct low-income neighborhoods in northern California cities: Berkeley, Oakland, and Richmond. The authors note that the recruitment began with community-based, educational outreach to identify individuals at risk for diabetes (Kanaya et al., 2012, p. 1551).
One strength of a study like this is that it provides a clear way to compare the two groups. This comparison can be very informative, particularly if the two groups are similar in other ways. Another strength is that it can be relatively easy to implement. However, there are also some weaknesses to this approach. One weakness is that it may not be possible to find a truly comparable group of subjects. Another weakness is that the interventions may not be administered in exactly the same way to each group, which could impact the results. Overall, the control experiment is a valuable tool for researchers, but it is important to keep in mind its limitations.
The article by Gaskin et al. (2014) examines the disparities in diabetes incidence and prevalence among different groups of people in the United States. The authors note that while the overall incidence of diabetes has been increasing in recent years, there are significant disparities among different groups of people. For example, they found that the incidence of diabetes is significantly higher among African Americans than it is among whites. In addition, they found that the incidence of diabetes is significantly higher among people living in poverty than it is among people who are not living in poverty.
The authors used a variety of methodological approaches to examine these disparities. First, they used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine trends in diabetes incidence and prevalence over time. Second, they used data from NHANES to examine differences in diabetes incidence and prevalence between different groups of people. Third, they used data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) as a place for reviewing the data so as to preserve privacy.
The authors found that there are significant disparities in diabetes incidence and prevalence between different groups of people in the United States. They also found that these disparities are largely explained by differences in race, poverty status, and place of residence. These findings suggest that interventions to reduce disparities in diabetes should focus on these factors.
As the study finds, race and poverty are two of the most commonly cited factors in health disparities. Minorities and low-income individuals are...
…they are two factors that play a role in diabetes prevalence. Their study has shown that minorities are more likely to develop diabetes than those in the majority population (Gaskin et al., 2014). This is often due to factors such as diet and exercise, as well as access to proper healthcare. Poverty is also a factor in diabetes prevalence. People who live in poverty are more likely to develop diabetes because they often cannot afford healthy food or have access to proper healthcare. By understanding race and poverty as factors in diabetes prevalence, public health interventions can be better tailored to target at-risk populations. In doing so, the hope is to reduce the incidence of diabetes in these populations and improve overall public health.In terms of public health policy, some support for an education program should be given by the government to programs that offer telephone counseling and/or address issues of race and poverty in diabetes prevalence. Telephone counseling services can provide individuals with timely information and support to help them make necessary lifestyle changes to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. In addition, by targeting programs specifically at populations at highest risk for developing diabetes, such as African Ameicans and those living in poverty, we can begin to close the disparities gap that currently exists.
While there is no one silver bullet solution to the problem of diabetes, implementing these public health policy measures can help to improve outcomes for all Americans. These two studies help to give perspective on the matter of diabetes intervention, method of counseling that works, and what factors to be mindful of when raising diabetes concerns for the African American population. Increasing health literacy is always the goal, and these two studies help to…
References
Kanaya, A. M., Santoyo-Olsson, J., Gregorich, S., Grossman, M., Moore, T., & Stewart,A. L. (2012). The live well, be well study: a community-based, translational lifestyle program to lower diabetes risk factors in ethnic minority and lower–socioeconomic status adults. American journal of public health, 102(8), 1551-1558.
Gaskin, D. J., Thorpe Jr, R. J., McGinty, E. E., Bower, K., Rohde, C., Young, J. H., ... &Dubay, L. (2014). Disparities in diabetes: the nexus of race, poverty, and place. American journal of public health, 104(11), 2147-2155.
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