Evaluating the Impact of Mobile Phone Technology on Health Outcomes for Latinos with Type 2 Diabetes

Objectives To assess whether a Spanish-language text messaging program helps Latinos with diabetes better manage their disease. Methods Spanish-speaking Latinos with type 2 diabetes and HbA1c ≥ 8% ( N  = 38) were recruited January 1, 2016–May 31, 2016, at a large integrated healthcare delivery syste...

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Published inJournal of racial and ethnic health disparities Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 532 - 536
Main Authors Jackson, Laura V., Carpenter, Diane M., Postlethwaite, Debbie A., Castro, Lorena C., Kim, Eileen, Herrera, Ralph A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cham Springer International Publishing 01.04.2021
Springer Nature B.V
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Summary:Objectives To assess whether a Spanish-language text messaging program helps Latinos with diabetes better manage their disease. Methods Spanish-speaking Latinos with type 2 diabetes and HbA1c ≥ 8% ( N  = 38) were recruited January 1, 2016–May 31, 2016, at a large integrated healthcare delivery system. Participants received 1–3 Spanish-language text messages about diabetes self-care per day for 3 months with an optional 3-month extension. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired data was used to compare pre-post intervention HbA1c. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney nonparametric test was used to compare changes in HbA1c across groups. Results After 3 months, the median HbA1c reduction overall was 1.4 percentage points (IQR: 0.5–3.3, p  < 0.01). Latinos having pre-intervention HbA1c > 10.0% had a greater reduction in median HbA1c (3.8, IQR: 0.5–5.3) compared with those having pre-intervention HbA1c ≤ 10.0% (0.9, IQR: 0.1–1.9, p  < 0.05). This reduction in median HbA1c persisted after 6 months (1.3, IQR: 0.2–2.9, p  < 0.01). Conclusion A Spanish-language text messaging program was an effective way to improve glycemic control for Latinos with type 2 diabetes. Policy Implications Culturally and linguistically tailored text messaging programs for managing diabetes should be considered.
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ISSN:2197-3792
2196-8837
DOI:10.1007/s40615-020-00810-x