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Diabetes Self-Care Behaviors Among Marshallese Adults Living in the United States

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Abstract

Marshallese experience high rates of type 2 diabetes. Proper management of diabetes requires multiple self-care behaviors, yet little is known about Marshallese’s diabetes-related self-care behaviors. Survey data from 111 Marshallese adults with diabetes were used to examine relationships between self-care behaviors and socio-demographic characteristics. The most common self-care behavior was attending annual doctor visits, while the least common was maintaining a normal weight. Age group, education level, and having a regular doctor were significantly associated with engaging in self-care behaviors. Having a regular doctor had the most effect on performing self-care behaviors (p = 0.006); although, only 38.7% reported having a regular doctor. To minimize diabetes-related complications, efforts to improve self-care behaviors among the Marshallese should be developed. Alternatives to traditional healthcare providers, such as community health workers, may be a viable strategy with this population given only one-third reported having a regular doctor.

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Acknowledgements

This research was made possible because of our CBPR partnership with the Marshallese Consulate General, Marshallese faith-based leaders, the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, and the Gaps in Services to Marshallese Task Force. We also acknowledge the work of Eleanor Hughes and Leslie Hitt who organized interprofessional faculty and students to make the project possible. CBPR partnership support is provided by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Translational Research Institute (Grant #UL1TR000039), which is funded through the National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.

Disclaimer

Any analysis, interpretation, and/or conclusion based on the data is solely that of the authors. Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the funders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Holly Felix

  2. Office of Community Health and Research, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Brett Rowland & Marie-Rachelle Narcisse

  3. College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Christopher R. Long & Pearl A. McElfish

  4. College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Michelle Piel

  5. College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Peter A. Goulden

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  1. Holly Felix
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  2. Brett Rowland
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  7. Pearl A. McElfish
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Correspondence to Pearl A. McElfish.

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Ethical Approval

All study procedures described herein were reviewed and approved by the UAMS Institutional Review Board (IRB #202720).

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Felix, H., Rowland, B., Long, C.R. et al. Diabetes Self-Care Behaviors Among Marshallese Adults Living in the United States. J Immigrant Minority Health 20, 1500–1507 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-017-0683-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-017-0683-4

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