The Impact of a Home-Based Diabetes Prevention and Management Program on High-Risk American Indian Youth.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a home-based diabetes prevention and management program on high-risk American Indian youth.

METHODS

Together on Diabetes (TOD) was designed via a participatory approach with 4 tribal communities in the southwestern United States. A multisite pre- and postevaluation design was used to evaluate the efficacy of the TOD intervention on improving youth's psychosocial, knowledge, behavioral, and physiological outcomes at 4 time points from baseline to 12 months postenrollment.

RESULTS

A total of 256 youth and 225 support persons were enrolled in the TOD program. At 12 months postenrollment, improvements were observed in youth's quality of life (P < .001), depressive symptoms (P < .001), knowledge related to TOD content (P < .001), standardized body mass index scores (P = .004), and hypertension (P = .026). Improvements in mean A1C were observed among diabetic youth with baseline A1C >6.5% (P = .036).

CONCLUSIONS

The TOD program was feasible, acceptable, and effective in lowering diabetes risk among reservation-based American Indian youth. It is the first efficacious youth-focused diabetes prevention and management program developed and implemented in partnership with tribal communities.