Research Description
Diabetes self-management education (DSME) has not been as effective in African Americans (AAs) living with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). One reason may be that this program does not address binge and emotional eating. AAs have described difficulty with binge and emotional eating. Due to the consequences of T2DM in African Americans, fresh programs to improve long-term management of HBA1c are needed. Currently, there is very little research on improving dietary intake and reducing binge eating among this population. Providing appetite self-regulation (ASE) training within a DSME program may be promising. Thus, the purpose of this study is to: a) design a remotely-delivered DSME + appetite self-regulation (ASE) program for AAs with T2DM and reported binge eating, and (b) to assess its preliminary efficacy in improving HbA1c. By examining the preliminary impact of a ASE program in African Americans with T2DM, we will set the foundation to develop a program that works to improve long-term management of T2DM.Research Profile
What area of diabetes research does your project cover? What role will this particular project play in preventing, treating and/or curing diabetes?The purpose of this project is to develop and pilot a digital health and culturally-tailored diabetes self-management education intervention to improve disordered eating in African Americans. with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Participants will receive additional training to improve their adherence to their biological signals of hunger and satiety, and to regulate their emotions. The hope is that this project will begin a line of research to develop and evaluate interventions to improve long-term T2DM management in African Americans.
If a person with diabetes were to ask you how your project will help them in the future, how would you respond?This project will develop a program to help you learn how to manage your appetite, and learn how to work with your biological signals of hunger and satiety to improve your ability to control your blood sugar. The project is also designed to create a diabetes self-management program that is relevant to the unique cultural experience of African Americans.
Why important for you, personally, to become involved in diabetes research? What role will this award play?I became a researcher because I wanted to design programs that will change lives. As I have watched type 2 diabetes disproportionately impact African Americans, and seen untreated disordered eating behaviors may impair glucose control, I have wondered if additional training in intuitive eating may help improve type 2 diabetes management for this population. In my previous studies, I have seen the benefit of skill training to honor and adhere to your biological signals of hunger and satiety to reduce disordered eating. This award will provide support toward the deliberate and careful design of this program, and further our efforts to improve glucose control in African Americans with type 2 diabetes.
In what direction do you see the future of diabetes research going?I hope future interventions to improve the management of T2DM will be designed with attention to health equity. We are increasingly aware of how the social determinants of health (e.g., limited food access, socioeconomic status, neighborhood context) have a direct impact on behavioral outcomes influencing diabetes control. Thus, various approaches of diabetes self-management education might be needed to meet the needs of diverse patient cohorts.