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  • Research & Results
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  • Comparing Two Education Programs to R...

Comparing Two Education Programs to Reduce Diabetes in Marshallese Populations

Sign Up for Updates to This Study  

Project Summary  

COVID-19-Related Project Enhancement

COVID-19 affects some communities more than others. For Pacific Islanders living in Arkansas, the rate of COVID-19 is 300 percent higher than the general population. With this enhancement, the research team will study COVID-19 and Pacific Islanders. The team will look at

  • The risks of exposure to COVID-19
  • People’s knowledge of the ways to prevent infection
  • What supports or hinders the ways to prevent infection
  • What supports or hinders COVID-19 testing
  • Results will inform ways to prevent infection. They will also help reduce disparities from COVID-19.

Enhancement Award Amount: $333,850

This research project is in progress. PCORI will post the research findings on this page within 90 days after the results are final.

What is the research about?

The Marshallese, a Pacific Islander population, have one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world. The rate of diabetes among the Marshallese living in the United States is four times higher than the general population. Diabetes can cause serious health issues, such as kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, or blindness.

Some lifestyle habits like healthy eating and exercise can reduce the risk of getting diabetes. The research team wants to learn if educational tools designed for the U.S. Marshallese population can help them adopt healthy habits. In this study, the team is comparing two programs to prevent diabetes in the Marshallese community in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Who can this research help?

Communities and healthcare providers can use these results when considering ways to help prevent diabetes among U.S. Marshallese and other Pacific Islander populations.

What is the research team doing?

The research team is recruiting 384 Marshallese adults who have pre-diabetes and overweight or obesity and live in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The team is assigning patients by chance to receive one of two education programs on diabetes prevention. Both programs are led in Marshallese and English by a community educator. Both are group classes that meet in a church.

  • The Wholeness, Oneness, Righteousness, Deliverance, or WORD, Diabetes Prevention Program—Lifestyle Intervention, or DPP-LI, is a standard diabetes education program for the general public. This program teaches participants to draw on their faith to make healthy changes.
  • The Pacific DPP-LI is a form of the DPP-LI designed for Pacific Islander populations. This program teaches participants to draw on family and community to make healthy changes.

The research team is collecting data from participants at the start of the study and 6 and 12 months later. The team is looking at changes in weight loss as the primary outcome measure. People in the Marshallese community chose blood sugar levels, blood pressure, exercise, and diet as secondary outcome measures. The study is also looking at whether family and social supports affect outcomes.

People from the Marshallese community are study partners who provide ongoing support to ensure that the research is meaningful and culturally appropriate.

Research methods at a glance

Design Elements Description
Design Cluster randomized controlled trial
Population 384 Marshallese adults ages 18 or older with BMI ≥25
Interventions/
Comparators
  • Traditional diabetes prevention education (faith-based)
  • Pacific diabetes prevention education (family and community-based)
Outcomes

Primary: percent of weight loss compared with pre-intervention weight

Secondary: change in blood glucose level, blood pressure, physical activity, and dietary intake

Timeframe 1-year follow-up for primary outcome

Journal Articles

Related Articles

Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Inequities in Access to Medical Care Among Adults Diagnosed with Diabetes: Comparisons Between the US Population and a Sample of US-Residing Marshallese Islanders

Journal of Translational Medicine

How stakeholder engagement influenced a randomized comparative effectiveness trial testing two Diabetes Prevention Program interventions in a Marshallese Pacific Islander Community

Medicine

Design of a comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trial testing a faith-based Diabetes Prevention Program (WORD DPP) vs. a Pacific culturally adapted Diabetes Prevention Program (PILI DPP) for Marshallese in the United States

Project Details

Principal Investigator
Pearl McElfish, PhD, MS, MBA
Project Status
In progress; Data collected
Project Title
Comparative Effectiveness of Diabetes Prevention Programs
Board Approval Date
December 2016
Project End Date
December 2021
Organization
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Year Awarded
2016
State
Arkansas
Project Type
Research Project
Health Conditions  
Multiple/Comorbid Chronic Conditions
Nutritional and Metabolic Disorders
Diabetes
Obesity
Intervention Strategies
Behavioral Interventions
Other Health Services Interventions
Training and Education Interventions
Populations
Individuals with Multiple Chronic/co-morbid Conditions
Low Health Literacy/Numeracy
Low Income
Older Adults
Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Women
Funding Announcement
Addressing Disparities
COVID-19-Related Project Enhancement
Project Budget
$2,547,295
Study Registration Information
HSRP20181360
NCT03270436
Page Last Updated: 
November 8, 2020

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PCORI 2021 and Beyond: Opportunities for Funding and Involvement in Patient-Centered Research
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