Building a Healthy Temple: a Diabetes Self-management Support Program in Hispanic Faith Community Settings

The present study is proposing a 12-month translational study BHT DSMS to test the effectiveness of adapted Stanford DSMP in a spiritual context. A cluster randomized trial with repeated measures will be conducted to compare the effectiveness of DSMS intervention strategies among 360 adult diabetic congregants from 18 predominantly Hispanic churches in San Antonio, Texas (20 participants/church). Using cluster randomized trial design; nine churches will be randomly assigned to the Faith-Based (FB) intervention, and nine to the Faith-Placed (FP) intervention. The study will be implemented in two cohorts (8 churches for cohort 1 \& 10 churches for cohort 2). All intervention activities will be implemented over 14 consecutive weeks. Participants in the FB group will participate in BHT DSMS, which includes a Health Sermon, a 6-session Health Bible Study with cooking demonstrations, the Stanford DSMP and a Diabetes Resource Seminar delivered by two trained church lay leaders. Participants in the FP group will first attend a 7-session community health and safety curriculum as a partial attention control intervention, followed by the Stanford DSMP and Diabetes Resource Seminar facilitated by the local public health department. The primary outcome will be a change in HbA1c levels. Secondary outcomes include: changes in body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), quality of life, diabetes self-care behaviors, eating behavior and physical activity level. Data will be collected at baseline, 6, 9, and 12-months during the study period. The aims of present study are 1) To test feasibility of the Stanford DSMP in FP and FB settings through observation and documentation of the implementation process, in-depth interviews with program staff and focus groups with participants to identify facilitators and barriers of the intervention. 2) To translate Stanford DSMP in a spiritual context for Hispanic faith community members and compare the effectiveness of a FB versus FP approach in improving diabetes outcomes.