A systematic review of research into black and ethnic minority patients' views on self‐management of type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Context Eliciting patients' views of type 2 diabetes self-management provides insights on how policy and services might better support the needs of this population.Objective To synthesize black and ethnic minority patients' views on the barriers and facilitators influencing the self-management of type 2 diabetes.Search strategy A systematic search of international literature published in nine electronic databases was undertaken in 2008. Search strategies used both MeSH and free-text terms. Two relevant journals were also hand searched.Inclusion criteria Any primary empirical study published in the English language since 1986 that reported black and ethnic minority patients' views on type 2 diabetes self-management.Data extraction and synthesis Data were extracted and study quality was formally assessed. Data were analysed using thematic synthesis.Main results Fifty-seven studies were included, of qualitative (n = 54), mixed-method (n = 2) or quantitative (n = 1) design. Studies were from North America (n = 41), Europe (n = 14) and Australia (n = 2), including 1735 participants in total. Three analytical themes emerged: 'Importance of identity'; 'Being understood by others' and 'Making sense of condition', all linked conceptually under the overarching theme 'Sense of self'. The quality of the studies varied.

Barriers and enablers of type 2 diabetes self‐management in people with severe mental illness

“…We did, however, exclude non‐English speakers, whose experiences of negotiating the health service may be different from the participants in our study. A number of reviews have examined cultural influences on diabetes self‐management, and an in‐depth discussion of the issue is not within the scope of this study. However, Wilson et al concluded that there was little evidence for substantial differences in self‐management behaviours between ethnic groups, although there may be distinct dietary pressures that interventions developed to help enhance diabetes self‐management should take into account.…”

Culturally appropriate health education for Type 2 diabetes in ethnic minority groups: an updated Cochrane Review of randomized controlled trials

“…In addition, these groups often face significant barriers to effective healthcare because of migrant status, low socio‐economic standing, language and cultural differences, and poor health literacy . These factors result in ethnic minority patients generally possessing inadequate diabetes knowledge relative to the general population, poorer glycaemic control and higher diabetes complication rates .…”

Barriers to and enablers of insulin self‐titration in adults with Type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study

“…The majority of the sample were from black and minority ethnic populations and other research has found that cultural influences play an important role in diabetes self‐management . To the best of our knowledge, however, this research has not examined cultural influences on insulin self‐titration in Type 2 diabetes.…”