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Objective: Diabetes disproportionately affects African Americans, leading to higher morbidity and mortality. This study explores the experiences of African American adults who successfully self-manage their type 2 diabetes (called Peer Ambassadors) and provided phone-based peer support in a 6-month culturally tailored diabetes self-management program for African Americans guided by the information–motivation–behavioral skills model. Design: A group discussion using a semi-structured discussion guide was conducted. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify the facilitators and barriers to completing the role of a Peer Ambassador and to develop strategies for overcoming possible challenges in the future. Setting: Key informant discussions were conducted in a community location to gain insights into Ambassadors' motivations and challenges in delivering peer support. Participants: Three Peer Ambassadors completed ethics training and peer mentor training and received a phone call guide before providing support to their peers. Results: There were four core themes related to Peer Ambassador experiences: (1) Motivation to be a Peer Ambassador, (2) program elements that supported Peer Ambassador role, (3) key elements of achieving engagement, and (4) challenges related to being a Peer Ambassador. Conclusions: This study showed Peer Ambassadors in a culturally tailored peer supported self-management program found fulfillment in sharing experiences and supporting peers. They highly valued educational group sessions for knowledge updates and sustaining their health-related goals, suggesting the potential benefits of recognizing milestones or providing advanced training for future program sustainability. Findings suggest the importance of recruiting motivated patients and providing effective facilitation for peer support roles, including addressing barriers such as time commitment and lack of socialization opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to diabetes disparities commonly seen among African Americans, it is important to address psychosocial and sociocultural barriers to medication adherence among African Americans with diabetes. Building on our prior work testing a culturally adapted peer supported diabetes self-management intervention for African Americans, this study will conduct a pilot randomized controlled feasibility trial that compares the culturally adapted intervention with a standard diabetes self-management program. Methods: Using an intervention mixed-methods design, the six-month trial will be conducted at two sites. Twenty-four African Americans with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes will be randomized to the intervention or control arm. Feasibility and acceptability outcomes in four domains (recruitment, intervention acceptability, intervention adherence, retention) will be collected. Primary clinical outcome (A1C), secondary outcome (medication adherence) and patient-specific psychosocial measures will be collected at baseline, 2 months, and 6 months. Document review, interview and focus groups will be used to gather qualitative data on feasibility and acceptability. Results: Expected results are that the trial protocol will be feasible to implement and acceptable for participants, and there will be a signal of clinically meaningful reduction in A1C and improvements in medication adherence. Conclusions: The results of this trial will inform a future powered large-scale randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of the culturally tailored intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: African Americans are twice as likely to die from diabetes, compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the USA. Poor adherence to diabetes medications is common among African Americans and contributes to these disproportionally worse outcomes. A pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a peer-supported intervention targeting diabetes and medication beliefs, communication, and self-efficacy skills to enhance medication adherence among African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Based on the extended self-regulatory model and information-motivation-behavioral skills model, this intervention was piloted using a single group pre/post-intervention study design at two sites. Seventeen African Americans who self-reported as adherent to diabetes medicines (ambassadors) were paired with 22 African Americans with self-reported poor medication adherence (buddies). Feasibility outcomes evaluated recruitment, retention, and intervention adherence. Measures assessed at baseline and 1-month post-intervention included glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c), self-reported medication adherence, diabetes beliefs, concerns about diabetes medicines, and diabetes self-efficacy. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests assessed for differences in mean scores of outcome variables at baseline compared with a 3-month follow-up. Semi-structured 60-min interviews were conducted with each buddy to explore their acceptability of the intervention. To ensure the rigor of the qualitative data, we focused on analytic criteria such as credibility, confirmability, and transferability. Results: Most buddies and ambassadors were female and about 56 years old. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment success rates of 73% for buddies and 85% for ambassadors relative to our goals. Retention rate for hemoglobin A1c and medication adherence outcome assessment was 95% for buddies. Both buddies and ambassadors had excellent intervention adherence, with buddies having a mean attendance of 7.76 out of 8 sessions/phone calls and ambassadors completing > 99% of the 105 intervention calls with Buddies. Results showed a signal of change in hemoglobin A1c (effect size = 0.14) and medication adherence (effect size = 0.35) among buddies, reduction in buddies' negative beliefs about diabetes and an increase in necessity beliefs of diabetes medicines. Summative interviews with buddies showed they valued ambassador's encouragement of self-management behaviors. Conclusions: Results support conduct of an efficacy trial to address medication adherence for African Americans with type 2 diabetes using a peer-supported tailored intervention. Trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04028076. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current diabetes self-management programs are often insufficient to improve outcomes for African Americans because of a limited focus on medication adherence and addressing culturally influenced beliefs about diabetes and medicines. This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a novel culturally tailored diabetes self-management intervention that addressed key psychosocial and sociocultural barriers to medication adherence for African Americans. Methods: The intervention consisted of group education and race-congruent peer-based phone support. Three African Americans who were engaged in taking their diabetes medicines (ambassadors), were matched with 8 African Americans who were not engaged in taking medicines (buddies). We conducted a single group, pre/post study design with African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Wilcoxon signed rank tests assessed mean score differences in outcomes at baseline compared with 6-months follow-up. Semi-structured interviews explored buddies' acceptability of the intervention. Results: Buddies and ambassadors were similar in age and mostly female. Recruitment rates were 80% for buddies and 100% for ambassadors. Retention rate for primary outcomes was 75%. Buddies had a mean completion of 13.4/17 of sessions and phone calls. Ambassadors completed 84% of intervention calls with buddies. Although there were no statistically significant differences in mean A1C and medication adherence, we found a clinically meaningful decrease (− 0.7) in mean A1C at the 6-month follow up compared to baseline. Secondary outcomes showed signal of changes. Themes showed buddies perceived an improvement in provider communication, learned goal setting strategies, and developed motivation, and confidence for self-management. Buddies perceived the program as acceptable and culturally appropriate. Conclusion: This culturally tailored diabetes self-management intervention that addresses diabetes self-management, psychosocial and behavioral barriers to medication adherence, and incorporates race-congruent peer support from African Americans engaged in taking medicines seemed feasible and acceptable. The results provide support for a fully powered randomized trial to test the intervention's efficacy. Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04857411. Date of Registration: April 23, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African Americans are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to be diagnosed with and die from diabetes. A contributing factor to these health disparities is African Americans' poor diabetes medication adherence that is due in part to sociocultural barriers (e.g., medicine and illness misperceptions), which negatively affect diabetes management. In our prior work, we engaged with community stakeholders to develop and test a brief version of a culturally adapted intervention to address these barriers to medication adherence. The objective of this study was to elicit feedback to inform the refinement of the full 8-week intervention. We utilized a community-engaged study design to conduct a series of meetings with two cohorts of patient advisory boards of African Americans with type 2 diabetes who were adherent to their diabetes medicines (i.e., peer ambassadors). In total, 15 peer ambassadors were paired with 21 African American participants (i.e., peer buddies) to provide specific intervention support as peers and serve in an advisory role as a board member. Data were collected during nine board meetings with the patient stakeholders. A qualitative thematic analysis of the data was conducted to synthesize the findings. Feedback from the patient advisory board contributed to refining the intervention in the immediate-term, short-term, and long-term. The inclusion of African American community members living with type 2 diabetes on the advisory board contributed to further tailoring the intervention to the specific needs of African Americans with type 2 diabetes in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a health literacy-psychosocial support intervention – ADHERE and explore changes in glycemic values and medication adherence. Patients and Methods: Thirty-one participants with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥ 8% were randomly allocated to control (usual care) or intervention groups (receiving usual care plus a 6-session pharmacist-led intervention focusing on the modifiable psychosocial factors that may influence medication adherence). Feasibility metrics evaluated recruitment, retention, and intervention adherence. Questionnaires were administered to collect psychosocial factors and self-reported medication adherence at baseline, the end of the intervention, 3 months, and 6 months post intervention. HbA1c values were extracted from electronic medical records. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare differences in mean outcomes between the control and intervention groups. To assess intervention acceptability, eleven individuals participated in semi-structured interviews about their intervention experiences. Qualitative content analysis was used for analyzing the interviews. Results: Thirty participants completed the study. Overall, the findings support the feasibility of the intervention. There were significant differences in HbA1c values. Participants in the intervention group had lower A1C (8.3 ± 1.4) than in the control group (9.2 ± 1.3) at the time of 6-month follow-up (p = 0.003). In addition, the participants in the intervention group showed improved HbA1c at 6-month follow-up (8.3 ± 1.4), compared to baseline (9.4 ± 1.5, p = 0.011) and after 6-session intervention (8.9 ± 1.6, p = 0.046). However, there were no significant differences in medication adherence between groups over time. Qualitative themes suggest participants liked the intervention and perceived the additional support from the pharmacist as beneficial. Conclusion: A pharmacist-led intervention to provide additional health literacy-psychosocial support may contribute to long-term improvements in HbA1c. Equipping pharmacists with patient-specific diabetes medication adherence information and building in additional follow-up support for patients may improve patient health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although qualitative methods have been used to develop quantitative behavioral health measurements, studies rarely report on the exact development process of these questionnaires. In this methodological paper, we highlight the procedure of a mixed data integration process in using qualitative data to create quantitative questionnaire items. We used an exploratory sequential mixed methods study design to culturally adapt the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) and address the sociocultural contexts of African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Forty African Americans with type 2 diabetes taking oral diabetes medication completed the qualitative focus groups and 170 participants completed the quantitative phase (surveys). Using the 'building approach' to integration, qualitative themes from the focus groups were matched to survey domains based on the self-regulatory model. Qualitative themes assessing perceptions of diabetes among African Americans were used to develop new survey items for a culturally adapted IPQ-R, as well as adapt original survey items. Important themes included the effect on friend/family relationships, lifestyle changes, food experiences (consequences domain), importance of medications (treatment control), comparisons with family members (illness coherence), fear, future worries, and anger (emotional representations). A new domain, 'sociocultural influences' was added to the adapted questionnaire based on qualitative themes of race and racism on provider roles, personal control, and community influences. Merging and integration of the qualitative and quantitative phases, (reported via a joint display) showed evidence of congruence between the illness perceptions from the qualitative focus groups and scores on the survey items. The use of mixed methods allowed for the development of a robust and patient-centered questionnaire. Future research should consider psychometric testing of the adapted IPQ-R, so that it may be used in addressing illness perceptions among African Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) incurs tremendous healthcare costs associated with various complications due to poor blood sugar control. Medication adherence, which is correlated with patients' health literacy, should be consistently practiced to achieve optimal control of blood sugar. A comprehensive understanding of specific communication and psychosocial factors related to medication-taking behaviors across different levels of health literacy among people with T2D will guide the development of effective interventions and strategies to enhance medication adherence. To understand barriers and facilitators to medication adherence in people with T2D across different health literacy levels, the Health Literacy Pathway Model was used to identify the psychosocial and communication factors that may influence medication adherence. This mixed methods study used an explanatory sequential design, including a quantitative survey followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews. Two hundred and five participants completed the survey questionnaire, and 23 participants completed semi-structured interviews. Confirmed by quantitative and qualitative data, having stronger self-efficacy and fewer concerns about medications, as well as experiencing fewer perceived barriers to medication-taking, are necessary for better medication adherence among those with low adherence. Our findings will be useful to tailor interventions for diabetes care through addressing concerns among low-adherent patients with low health literacy and emphasizing self-efficacy and perceived barriers to medication adherence among all low-adherent patients with T2D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Peers Supporting Health Literacy, Self-efficacy, Self-Advocacy, and Adherence (Peers LEAD) program is a culturally tailored educational-behavioral 8-week intervention that addressed psychosocial and sociocultural barriers to diabetes medication adherence in African Americans. A brief 3-week version of the Peers LEAD intervention used a community engagement approach to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention amongst patient stakeholders. Main body: African Americans who were adherent to their diabetes medicines were paired with those who were non-adherent to their medicines. Together, they participated in the group and phone-based medication adherence intervention. Input from this brief intervention was important for the design of the remainder weeks of the 8-week program. The intervention targeted negative beliefs about diabetes, use of diabetes medicines, and offering culturally tailored peer support to improve medication adherence in African Americans. To receive input in the development and implementation of the program, we worked with community advisors and a peer ambassador board of African Americans who were adherent to their diabetes medicines. The peer ambassador board and community advisors reviewed intervention materials to ensure they were understandable and appropriate for the community. As well, they provided feedback on the process for intervention delivery. Conclusion: The active engagement of the peer ambassador board and community advisors led to a revised intervention process and materials for a medication adherence program for African Americans with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medication adherence is important for diabetes management. Better knowledge of how patient factors relate to medication adherence allows us to develop more tailored interventions. We explore patients' perceptions of the barriers to and facilitators of medication adherence across different levels of health literacy. Semi-structured interviews with 23 participants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) were completed, and direct content analysis identified the facilitators of and the barriers to medication adherence through the lens of the Health Literacy Pathway model. Linking medication-taking to daily routine and focusing on the internal locus of control are imperative approaches to fostering self-efficacy of medication use. Understanding patients' life experiences and clarifying medication misinformation help patients address their concerns with medications. Lowering the cost of medications and simplifying therapy regimens can alleviate participants' perceived barriers to medication-taking. In this study, we explore medication adherence from the experience of people with T2D and can inform tailored interventions to improve medication adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) incurs tremendous health costs associated with various complications due to poor diabetes control. Medication adherence, which is correlated with patients' health literacy, should be consistently practiced achieving optimal diabetes control. A deeper understanding of the specific communication and psychosocial factors related to medication-taking behaviors across different levels of health literacy among people with T2D will guide the development of effective interventions and strategies to enhance medication adherence.Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to identify salient patient factors associated with diabetes medication adherence across different levels of health literacy.Methods: A questionnaire was administered via a face-to-face approach with 205 participants at a family medicine clinic. Study participants were all above 20 years of age with T2D, were prescribed at least one oral diabetes medication, and understood English. The questionnaire assessed participants' health literacy, self-efficacy for medication use, beliefs in medicines, patient-provider communication, perceived barriers to medication adherence, and self-reported medication adherence. Separate analysis of covariance was used to compare the mean scores of patient factors related to medication adherence across people with different health literacy levels.Results: The mean age of participants was 61 years old, and the majority of the participants were female (57%), White (75%), and college educated (62%). Thirty-three percent of the participants had adequate health literacy, but only 43% of them reported high adherence to their diabetes medications. Analysis of covariance showed that having stronger self-efficacy (P < 0.001), lower concern beliefs about medication (P = 0.047), and fewer perceived barriers to medication-taking (P < 0.001), are necessary for better medication adherence.Conclusion: Findings suggest that practitioners should address concern beliefs among low-adherent patients with low health literacy, help improve self-efficacy, and address perceived barriers to medication adherence among all low-adherent patients to optimally support patients' diabetes care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In this study, we conducted a longitudinal evaluation of changes in medication adherence and the role of psychosocial and interpersonal factors in these changes among Blacks with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and determined barriers and facilitators of T2DM medication adherence. Methods: We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design for a sample of 287 black adult patients with T2DM in Wisconsin. Two surveys quantitatively evaluated changes in medication adherence, psychosocial factors, and interpersonal factors over time. We conducted 10 semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore participants' perceptions of these changes. Data integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings elucidated barriers and facilitators of medication adherence. Results: Increased adherence was significantly correlated with less concerns about medicines (r = -0.31), higher self-efficacy (r = 0.47), lesser depressive symptoms (r = -0.26), and lesser negative illness perceptions (r = -0.26) at both baseline and follow-up. Patient perceptions of adherence changes included adherence motivators, social support, and complex medication regimens. Integration showed that barriers and facilitators both existed in individuals who had an increase or a decrease in adherence over time. Conclusions: Specific beliefs of Blacks towards T2DM medications must be addressed to improve their adherence. Interventions must be tailored using interpersonal factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illness perceptions, which are likely influenced by patients’ cultural contexts, are associated with disease self-management and adherence. African American patients perceptions of type 2 diabetes is not well understood and no known studies has used a comprehensive evidence-based theoretical framework to explore what AAs with type 2 diabetes know, believe, and think about type 2 diabetes. Understanding perceptions of an illness shared by a group of people will be useful in developing culturally-appropriate interventions targeted to the needs of the community. The purpose of this study is to explore African Americans’ perceptions of type 2 diabetes based on the common sense model of illness and self-regulation. Using a phenomenology qualitative approach and purposive sampling, 40 African American men and women, age 45–60 years old with diagnosed type 2 diabetes at least one year prior, and who took at least one prescription diabetes medication, participated in six semi-structured 90-minute focus groups conducted in a private space. Qualitative content analysis was conducted to explore African Americans beliefs about type 2 diabetes. Participants expressed that historical issues, e.g., slavery, healthcare providers, the government, and God influenced how they developed diabetes. Participants reported a loss of autonomy, a change of their identity as an employee, a social individual and sexual person, as well as anger and frustration due to having diabetes. Diabetes made the African American family bonding experience of eating difficult, and the disease diminished their cultural experiences. Concerns about diabetes ranged from fear of death and amputations to the inability to prevent the disease among their children/grandchildren. Participants perceived that medications, faith in God, and positive thinking about survival helped control diabetes. Conclusions: Improved diabetes self-management and medication adherence may depend on the meaning African Americans attach to diabetes, available psychosocial support for managing diabetes, and African Americans experience with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes is disproportionally burdensome among African-Americans (AAs) and medication adherence is important for optimal outcomes. Limited studies have qualitatively examined reasons for nonadherence among AAs with type 2 diabetes, though AAs are less adherent to prescribed medications compared to whites. This study explored the reasons for medication nonadherence and adherence among AAs with type 2 diabetes and examined AAs' perceived solutions for enhancing adherence. Methods: Forty AAs, age 45--60 years with type 2 diabetes for at least 1 year prior, taking at least one prescribed diabetes medication, participated in six semistructured 90-minute focus groups. Using a phenomenology qualitative approach, reasons for nonadherence and adherence, as well as participants' perceived solutions for increasing adherence were explored. Qualitative content analysis was conducted. Results: AAs' reasons for intentional nonadherence were associated with 1) their perception of medicines including concerns about medication side effects, as well as fear and frustration associated with taking medicines; 2) their perception of illness (disbelief of diabetes diagnosis); and 3) access to medicines and information resources. Participants reported taking their medicines because they valued being alive to perform their social and family roles, and their belief in the doctor's recommendation and medication helpfulness. Participants provided solutions for enhancing adherence by focusing on the roles of health care providers, patients, and the church. AAs wanted provider counseling on the necessity of taking medicines and the consequences of not taking them, indicating the need for the AA community to support and teach self-advocacy in diabetes self-management, and the church to act as an advocate in ensuring medication use. Conclusion: Intentional reasons of AAs with type 2 diabetes for not taking their medicines were related to their perception of medicines and illness. Solutions for enhancing diabetes medication adherence among AAs should focus on the roles of providers, patients, and the church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Illness representations, known as patients' beliefs and expectations about an illness, may be influenced by cultural beliefs and personal experiences. This study explored African Americans' perceptions of the sociocultural factors that influence their representations of diabetes.Design: Six semi-structured focus groups.Setting: Private space at a convenient site.Participants: Forty African Americans, aged 45-60 years with type 2 diabetes for at least one year prior.Results: Participants perceived that there was a race-mediated effect of how they developed diabetes because of poverty due to past slavery, racial discrimination by health care providers, and the stigma associated with diabetes within the African American community. Participants perceived that poverty influenced African Americans' unhealthy eating habits, which led to diabetes diagnosis among their ancestors and their development of the disease since it was hereditary. Participants also perceived that there was provider ill intention, ie, providers were purposefully making people sick, and their lack of education on diabetes from providers was done on purpose, as information on diabetes was withheld and not shared due to racial discrimination. Perceived stigma by the community led to African Americans' avoidance and denial of the disease, and subsequently the development of diabetes.Conclusions: To enhance disease management for African Americans with diabetes, it is important to focus on the sociocultural context of how African Americans view their world that may be influenced by their knowledge of negative historical circumstances and their current provider relationship, which, in turn, may be reflected in their perceptions of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) is the only available and empirically validated tool used to gain insight into patient illness beliefs. However, the IPQ has reliability and validity problems when used with African Americans (AAs) and needs to be culturally-adapted and validated for use with this group. This study aimed to utilize findings from focus groups to culturally adapt the IPQ for use in AAs with diabetes. Ten cognitive interviews among AAs with type 2 diabetes explored patients' interpretation and understanding of the adapted IPQ. Results: Forty-four new survey items were added to the IPQ. Twenty-nine of the forty-four items were determined as the appropriate number of questions to be tested because of time, and to reduce respondent burden. After the first round of interviews, an item-by-item review of the new items identified problems related to AA comprehension of certain items, their applicability, and wording/tone. Five items identified as problematic were related to AAs understanding of a cure for diabetes, their perception of how food influences their diabetes, how their identity as AAs influence diabetes control, and the dialogue about diabetes within their families and/or community. Findings support the newly developed illness perception questions as culturally specific to AAs with diabetes after being tested for content validity and participant understanding using cognitive interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]