Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
BackgroundType 2 diabetes (T2D) in Chinese Americans is a rising public health concern for the US health care system. The majority of Chinese Americans with T2D are foreign-born older immigrants and report limited English proficiency and health literacy. Multiple social deter...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2022-10-01
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| Series: | JMIR Research Protocols |
| Online Access: | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/10/e42554 |
| _version_ | 1797734579149209600 |
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| author | Lu Hu Nadia Islam Yiyang Zhang Yun Shi Huilin Li Chan Wang Mary Ann Sevick |
| author_facet | Lu Hu Nadia Islam Yiyang Zhang Yun Shi Huilin Li Chan Wang Mary Ann Sevick |
| author_sort | Lu Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundType 2 diabetes (T2D) in Chinese Americans is a rising public health concern for the US health care system. The majority of Chinese Americans with T2D are foreign-born older immigrants and report limited English proficiency and health literacy. Multiple social determinants of health limit access to evidence-based diabetes interventions for underserved Chinese immigrants. A social media–based diabetes intervention may be feasible to reach this community.
ObjectiveThe purpose of the Chinese American Research and Education (CARE) study was to examine the potential efficacy of a social media–based intervention on glycemic control in Chinese Americans with T2D. Additionally, the study aimed to explore the potential effects of the intervention on psychosocial and behavioral factors involved in successful T2D management. In this report, we describe the design and protocol of the CARE trial.
MethodsCARE was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT; n=60) of a 3-month intervention. Participants were randomized to one of two arms (n=30 each): wait-list control or CARE intervention. Each week, CARE intervention participants received two culturally and linguistically tailored diabetes self-management videos for a total of 12 weeks. Video links were delivered to participants via WeChat, a free and popular social media app among Chinese immigrants. In addition, CARE intervention participants received biweekly phone calls from the study’s community health workers to set goals related to T2D self-management and work on addressing goal-achievement barriers. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), self-efficacy, diabetes self-management behaviors, dietary intake, and physical activity were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Piecewise linear mixed-effects modeling will be performed to examine intergroup differences in HbA1c and psychosocial and behavioral outcomes.
ResultsThis pilot RCT study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in March 2021. The first participant was enrolled in March 2021, and the recruitment goal (n=60) was met in March 2022. All data collection is expected to conclude by November 2022, with data analysis and study results ready for reporting by December 2023. Findings from this pilot RCT will further guide the team in planning a future large-scale study.
ConclusionsThis study will serve as an important first step in exploring scalable interventions to increase access to evidence-based diabetes interventions among underserved, low-income, immigrant populations. This has significant implications for chronic care in other high-risk immigrant groups, such as low-income Hispanic immigrants, who also bear a high T2D burden, face similar barriers to accessing diabetes programs, and report frequent social media use (eg, WhatsApp).
Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03557697; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03557697
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/42554 |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:46:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-655111b9e01f4756aab80feb115ba79d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1929-0748 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:46:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
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| series | JMIR Research Protocols |
| spelling | doaj.art-655111b9e01f4756aab80feb115ba79d2023-08-28T23:20:42ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482022-10-011110e4255410.2196/42554Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled TrialLu Huhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6465-6779Nadia Islamhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1470-2073Yiyang Zhanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7409-7915Yun Shihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1936-072XHuilin Lihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8288-7068Chan Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1718-5414Mary Ann Sevickhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5482-7535 BackgroundType 2 diabetes (T2D) in Chinese Americans is a rising public health concern for the US health care system. The majority of Chinese Americans with T2D are foreign-born older immigrants and report limited English proficiency and health literacy. Multiple social determinants of health limit access to evidence-based diabetes interventions for underserved Chinese immigrants. A social media–based diabetes intervention may be feasible to reach this community. ObjectiveThe purpose of the Chinese American Research and Education (CARE) study was to examine the potential efficacy of a social media–based intervention on glycemic control in Chinese Americans with T2D. Additionally, the study aimed to explore the potential effects of the intervention on psychosocial and behavioral factors involved in successful T2D management. In this report, we describe the design and protocol of the CARE trial. MethodsCARE was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT; n=60) of a 3-month intervention. Participants were randomized to one of two arms (n=30 each): wait-list control or CARE intervention. Each week, CARE intervention participants received two culturally and linguistically tailored diabetes self-management videos for a total of 12 weeks. Video links were delivered to participants via WeChat, a free and popular social media app among Chinese immigrants. In addition, CARE intervention participants received biweekly phone calls from the study’s community health workers to set goals related to T2D self-management and work on addressing goal-achievement barriers. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), self-efficacy, diabetes self-management behaviors, dietary intake, and physical activity were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Piecewise linear mixed-effects modeling will be performed to examine intergroup differences in HbA1c and psychosocial and behavioral outcomes. ResultsThis pilot RCT study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in March 2021. The first participant was enrolled in March 2021, and the recruitment goal (n=60) was met in March 2022. All data collection is expected to conclude by November 2022, with data analysis and study results ready for reporting by December 2023. Findings from this pilot RCT will further guide the team in planning a future large-scale study. ConclusionsThis study will serve as an important first step in exploring scalable interventions to increase access to evidence-based diabetes interventions among underserved, low-income, immigrant populations. This has significant implications for chronic care in other high-risk immigrant groups, such as low-income Hispanic immigrants, who also bear a high T2D burden, face similar barriers to accessing diabetes programs, and report frequent social media use (eg, WhatsApp). Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03557697; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03557697 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/42554https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/10/e42554 |
| spellingShingle | Lu Hu Nadia Islam Yiyang Zhang Yun Shi Huilin Li Chan Wang Mary Ann Sevick Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR Research Protocols |
| title | Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full | Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_fullStr | Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_short | Leveraging Social Media to Increase Access to an Evidence-Based Diabetes Intervention Among Low-Income Chinese Immigrants: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_sort | leveraging social media to increase access to an evidence based diabetes intervention among low income chinese immigrants protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial |
| url | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/10/e42554 |
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