Project Summary  

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

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