LAUSR

Background Type 2 diabetes is highly prevalent among South Asians/Asian Indians (AI) in the US, but standard Diabetes Self-Management Programs (DSMP) do not address AI's cultural characteristics. There is a gap of knowledge about AI's nutrition- and healthcare-related behaviors that are likely to influence diabetes outcomes. Objective To describe nutrition and diabetes care-related characteristics of AI who participate in DSMP. Study Design, Setting, Participants Cross-sectional baseline data were collected through group-administered surveys among 40 AI adults prior to participating in community-based DSMP in New Jersey in 2019. Anthropometric data were measured by trained research staff. Measurable Outcome/Analysis DHQ III semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI) were used to measure dietary quality; Asian food preference at home was also collected. Diabetes care behaviors included measures such as 10-item diabetes self-efficacy scale, 4-item health distress scale (range: 0-5), 3-item scale for communications with doctors (range: 0-5), and 4-item social role-diabetes interference scale (range: 0-4). Body weight/height (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were used to characterize weight status. Descriptive results were calculated using IBM SPSS Statistics. Results Most (83%) of the participants’ BMIs were in overweight/obese category (mean: 27.9 ± 4.7); 80% of participants had high risk WC. Mean HEI score (37.9 ± 13.7), intake of fruits (1.1 cups ± 1.6/d), vegetables (1.5 cups ± 1.4/d), and fiber (14.9g ± 13.8/d) were below recommended levels; 80% of participants preferred mostly/exclusively Asian foods at home. Diabetes self-efficacy was moderately high (mean: 7.4 ± 1.9); means for health distress (1.5 ± 1.3) and social role interference (1.7 ± 2.6) scores were moderately low, and communication (with doctors) score was 2.9 ± 1.2. Conclusions These results indicate a need to improve weight status and dietary quality, which are potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Future education programming should be tailored to address Asian dietary intake preferences and include strategies to improve health distress, social role interference, and communication with healthcare providers. Results will be used for culturally appropriate curriculum development and implementation for AI.