J Cult Divers. 2014 Spring;21(1):22-8.

Perceptions of culturally competent diabetes management in a primary care practice.

Kirk JK, Hildebrandt C, Davis S, Crandall SJ, Siciliano AB, Marion GS.

Abstract

To evaluate whether clinicians consider the impact of culture on diabetes management, a survey was mailed to 300 randomly selected patients > or = 50 years with type 2 diabetes and 153 surveys were returned. Data were correlated with A1C values. African Americans (AA) and non-Hispanic whites (NHW), (91.9%, 97.0%) respectively, reported clinicians discussed benefits of controlling blood sugar but did not discuss effects of cultural issues on glucose control (< or = 50%). AAs perceived clinicians were more accommodating of their cultural preferences than did NHWs (49.2% versus 30.6%) (P < .05). Females (51.9%) (P < .01) reported that clinicians acknowledged the importance of their cultural beliefs with a slightly higher percentage for African American females (54.8%) versus non-Hispanic White females (48.6%). Understanding the patient's and clinician's views of cultural beliefs as they relate to diabetes self-management can provide perspectives to guide care.