Translation of the Diabetes Prevention Program to Ethnic Communities in the United States

Abstract

The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), an evidenced-based lifestyle intervention for type 2 diabetes (T2D), has been translated for use with ethnic minority communities throughout the United States that are disproportionately at-risk for T2D. The present paper sought to critically review ethnic translation studies of the DPP with respect to translation methods utilized, the success of these methods, and alternative or supplemental methodologies for future translation efforts. Manuscripts reviewed were found by searching PubMed and PsycINFO, using the terms: "diabetes prevention program" AND ["translation" or "ethnic"]. Of 89 papers found, only 6 described ethnic translations of the DPP in the United States, and were included in this review. Translations of the DPP to African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Arab American, and American Indian and Native Alaskan communities were identified and reviewed. The most common translation strategies included group-based delivery and use of bilingual study personnel. Generally, these factors appeared to increase acceptability of the intervention within the ethnic communities reviewed, and should be considered in future efforts to implement and translate the DPP to ethnic communities in the United States.

Culturally responsive approaches to health promotion for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

“…Most evidence-based interventions (EBI) are developed using Western-centric theories of behaviour change and behavioural strategies tested in samples of predominately non-Hispanic Whites. For example, the Diabetes Prevention Program – Lifestyle Intervention (DPP-LI) is an EBI found effective in reducing a person’s risk for diabetes by addressing excess body weight (Hamman et al 2006), which has been widely disseminated (Dunkley et al 2014; Hall et al 2016; Jiang et al 2013). However, weight-loss outcomes between ethnic groups have shown to differ given the same EBI targeting their lifestyle behaviors, with non-Hispanic Whites often having better outcomes (Kumanyika et al 2002; West et al 2008).…”

Financial incentives for diabetes prevention in a Medicaid population: Study design and baseline characteristics

“…The DPP is also cost effective and, potentially, cost saving [10,11]. The DPP lifestyle program has been delivered to numerous populations in a variety of settings, yet in these translation studies its effectiveness varies by race, ethnicity, and education level [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Adaptation and Feasibility Study of a Digital Health Program to Prevent Diabetes among Low-Income Patients: Results from a Partnership between a Digital Health Company and an Academic Research Team

“…Numerous studies have translated DPP to real-world community settings (e.g., YMCA, churches, or workplace) and clinical settings that required cultural adaptation of the program [24, 25]. To our knowledge, this is the first digital translation of DPP for an underserved patient population.…”