Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program (ELDEP)

Latinos represent the largest minority group in the United States with a population of 35 million or 12.5%. National surveys indicate that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is 1.9 times higher in Latinos than non-whites, and that approximately 24% percent of Latinos over the age of 45 years have diabetes. In Georgia, Latinos make up approximately 6.5% of the population. During 1990 and 2000, the prevalence of diabetes in Fulton and Dekalb counties, two of the most populated areas in Georgia and the Atlanta metropolitan area increased by 30%. Language and cultural barriers represent the two most important obstacles in educating and improving the care of Latino patients with diabetes. Less than 5% of physicians, 2% of nurses, and 2.5% of dentists in the US speak Spanish.

The Emory Latino Diabetes education program has been in existence since December 2005. Our program aims to deliver diabetes education in Spanish to the underserved Latino community in Metro Atlanta. Program participants attend an initial 2.5hr diabetes education class in Spanish. The class curriculum follows the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) seven self-care behaviors: healthy eating, being active, monitoring, medication use, problem-solving and healthy coping. Participants are invited to return to a follow-up session within 6 months. Follow-sessions are held in the late afternoon. These sessions are discussion-based and include an activity such as salsa lessons and cooking demonstrations.

We would like to obtain IRB approval to analyze and publish that data we collect during our educational sessions. We would like to collect retrospective data from past participants in the program (for which we request a waiver of informed consent and HIPAA authorization), and we would like to consent current and future participants to use their data.