A Culturally Tailored Physical Activity Intervention for Hispanic Adults Living With Type 2 Diabetes: Pre-Post Pilot Feasibility Study.

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disease that affects over 38 million adults in the United States, who are disproportionately Hispanic.

Objective: This study describes the development and implementation of Salud Paso por Paso, a culturally tailored and linguistically appropriate intervention to increase engagement in physical activity (PA) for Hispanic adults living with T2DM.

Methods: Participants were enrolled in a 6-week pre-post pilot test of a culturally tailored intervention that included sessions covering different aspects of PA and T2DM. Participants were recruited at a local free clinic. Nonparametric paired-sample Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to examine differences between pre- and postintervention measures.

Results: Twenty-one participants were recruited, and 19 (90.5%) completed the intervention. Participants significantly increased average hours spent in moderate PA, by 3.16 hours (from 4.73, SD 3.79 minutes to 9.63, SD 6.39 minutes; Z=-3.52; P<.001), average steps per week (from 23,006.38, SD 14,357.13 steps to 43,000.81, SD 30,237.17 steps; Z=-2.79; P=.005), and minutes per week of PA (from 105.94, SD 72.23 minutes to 224.19, SD 167.85 minutes; Z=-3.36; P<.001).

Conclusions: Developing effective culturally tailored interventions that can ameliorate the deleterious effects of T2DM in Hispanic adults is an important strategy to promote health equity. The Salud Paso por Paso intervention is an effective way to promote PA in Hispanic adults living with T2DM.