A qualitative exploration of facilitators and barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle among Black, Hispanic, and American Indian males with diabetes or at risk for type 2 diabetes.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Qualitative focus group study without a clinical comparison group (CEBM level 5 by design analogy)
PubMed 38842432 · doi:10.1080/13557858.2024.2359377
What was done
Six focus groups were conducted with 37 adult males (aged 18 and older) identifying as Black (n = 14), Hispanic (n = 14), or American Indian (n = 9) who were diagnosed with diabetes (n = 19) or at risk for type 2 diabetes (n = 18; including diagnoses of prediabetes or hypertension). Thematic analysis was applied to qualitative transcripts to identify key facilitators and barriers to adopting healthy eating and physical activity.
What was found
Thematic analysis identified five primary categories of facilitators: family and social networks; psychosocial factors; health status, health priorities, and beliefs about aging; knowledge regarding health and healthy behaviors; and access to healthy community resources. Key identified barriers included mistrust of the healthcare system, financial costs, and low socioeconomic status. No quantitative measures or statistical effect sizes were evaluated.
Why it matters
Minority men experience disproportionately high rates of type 2 diabetes and related complications. Identifying community-specific social facilitators and structural barriers helps guide the design of culturally tailored lifestyle interventions.
Limits
The study is limited by a small total sample size (37 participants across three distinct racial/ethnic groups) and a qualitative design that does not measure behavioral changes, clinical outcomes (such as HbA1c), or causal relationships. Findings may not generalize to other geographic areas or populations.
Cited by
- contradicts About 115 million adults in the United States currently have pre-diabetes.