Program

Physician Assistant M.S.

Year Approved

2016

First Advisor

Schulze Michener, Mary

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects, if any, of utilizing Spanish language on the efficacy of an education program for type 2 diabetes among the Hispanic population in the twin-cities Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. In the United States adult Hispanics over the age of twenty have a 5.2% higher incidence of type 2 diabetes than Non-Hispanic Whites, a number that keeps rising despite preventability. In this study, a diabetes education program was delivered in Spanish based on material developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Diabetes Education Program. The program focused on diabetes disease basics and complications along with healthier lifestyle modification suggestions. It was presented at Incarnation/Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Study participants completed a pre-test and a post-test to assess how much they understood and retained from the diabetes educational program. There were 18 participants in this study. The data analysis yielded a mean difference between the pre and post-test of 3.14 (p<0.05). All questions were answered correctly at least 78% of the time in the post-test, compared to the pre-test where only 2 questions were answered correctly 78% of the time. Over 80% of the participants indicated they were going to make at least one of the suggested lifestyle modifications. While limited by a small population size, this study shows statistically significant improvement in knowledge of type 2 diabetes following a Spanish language delivered education program.

Degree Name

Masters of Science in Physician Assistant

Document Type

Masterʼs thesis

Included in

Primary Care Commons

Share

COinS