Diabetes Self-Care Behaviors and Barriers to Clinical Care During COVID-19 Pandemic for Marshallese Adults.
Rachel S Purvis, Ramey A Moore, Britni L Ayers and 9 others
PMID 35023402WHAT IT FOUND
Marshallese adults with or connected to type 2 diabetes described mixed pandemic self-care: some improved diet and exercise after Marshallese-language health messages, while others faced stress, reported higher glucose, missed refills, and delayed care.
Key findings
01Participants described varied self-care: some linked improved diet and exercise to Marshallese-language messages, while others described eating more, exercising less, and reported higher glucose.
02Participants reported barriers to medication refills and diabetes visits, including inability to reach doctors, fear of infection, reduced clinic access, and lost insurance.
03Telemedicine helped some keep appointments, but comfort with face-to-face care, internet problems, and language access needs limited it.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited through snowball, nonrandom methods, so it may not represent all Marshallese adults with diabetes or their families. The study included only Marshallese participants, so the findings may not apply to other Pacific Islander communities. Findings are self-reported experiences and perceptions, not measured clinical outcomes or tested effects of any intervention. Focus groups ranged from 2 to 7 participants, and quotes often included family or community language, so individual patient experiences may be hard to separate.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types indicate research support from NIH and government sources; no author conflict-of-interest declaration is included in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Marshallese-language messages, telemedicine, or any self-care strategy improved diabetes outcomes. This was a qualitative study of experiences in a nonrandom sample, not a tested intervention or clinical outcome trial.