Adapting a Text Messaging Intervention to Improve Diabetes Medication Adherence in a Spanish-Speaking Population: Qualitative Study.

Background: Latino adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have higher rates of diabetes medication nonadherence than non-Hispanic White adults. REACH (Rapid Encouragement/Education And Communications for Health) is a text message platform based on the information-motivation-behavioral skills model that addresses barriers to adherence and was shown to improve adherence and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, but it is only available in English.

Objective: This study aimed to report the multiphase, stakeholder-driven adaptation of the REACH barriers to diabetes medication adherence content to a Latino population (REACH-Español).

Methods: This was a qualitative study using focus groups. We identified potentially eligible patients (≥18 y old, Latino ethnicity, Spanish-language preference, and T2D diagnosis) using a Mass General Brigham Hospital query. Eligible patients were invited to participate in a focus group conducted in Spanish between April 13 and November 9, 2023. A total of 5 focus groups were conducted. Focus groups 1-3 centered on ranking 40 barriers to diabetes medication adherence (derived from REACH and the extant literature), whereas focus groups 4-5 centered on translation and cultural modifications of the original SMS text message content associated with each of the REACH barriers. Barriers were mapped onto information-motivation-behavioral constructs. We used descriptive statistics to summarize participant characteristics. Focus groups were audio-recorded, professionally transcribed, and analyzed with thematic content analysis using NVivo (Lumivero).

Results: In total, 22 participants attended the focus groups. The mean (SD) age was 63.2 (11) years, 55% (n=10/22) were female, and the mean HbA1c level was 8.5%. All participants were born in Latin America or the Caribbean and spoke Spanish as their preferred language, and 54.5% (12/22) had completed middle-school education or less. Among the top 10 ranked barriers, 50% (n=5) corresponded to information, 20% (n=2) to social motivation, 20% (n=2) to behavioral skills, and 10% (n=1) to personal motivation. Personal motivation barriers (medication burden and fear of side effects) and behavioral skills (forgetting to take medication) emerged as important themes in the focus groups.

Conclusions: A stakeholder-driven approach to intervention adaptation identified and prioritized relevant barriers to diabetes medication adherence among Latino adults with T2D and facilitated the adaptation of the REACH platform to a Spanish-speaking population.