Evelyn Y Ho1,2, Genevieve Leung3, Maria T Chao4,5,6, Donald Chan7, Elaine Hsieh2,8, Sonya Pritzker9, Han-Lin Chi10, Siyuan Huang11, Qiao Ruan12, Hilary K Seligman4,6. 1. Department of Communication Studies, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. 2. Asian American Research Center on Health, San Francisco, CA, USA. 3. Department of Rhetoric & Language, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. 4. Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. 5. Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. 6. Center for Vulnerable Populations, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. 7. UT Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX, USA. 8. Department of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT, USA. 9. Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA. 10. School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. 11. Asia Pacific Studies Program, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. 12. David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Abstract
Objectives: This study describes the development and feasibility of Integrative Nutritional Counseling (INC), a Chinese medicine (CM)+biomedicine-based nutrition curriculum for Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes. Although Chinese Americans often incorporate CM principles into their diet, scant research has explored how to integrate CM with biomedical nutrition standards in a culturally appropriate manner or if such a program could improve diabetes self-management. Design: This is a 1-month pre-post study design including three points of contact: baseline, in-person class, and 1-month follow-up. Subjects: Participants (n = 15) were Cantonese-speaking/reading Chinese Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who had used some form of CM/medicinal foods in the last 12 months. Interventions and Outcome Measures: The INC program included baseline surveys and a CM intake interview conducted by a licensed acupuncturist. The acupuncturist generated a CM diagnosis, which was shared with the participant, and used this diagnosis to tailor brief nutrition education. To bolster this brief education, a bilingual registered dietitian provided a 2-h group education class in Cantonese to all participants, during which time participants also received a Chinese/English INC booklet. Participants completed surveys immediately after the class and at 1-month follow-up, with qualitative exit interviews. Results: Participants reported improved attitudes and dietary habits aligning directly with INC, and improvement in biomedically valued measures of type 2 diabetes, such as weight loss, and CM-valued measures of digestion/elimination and hot/cold feeling. Satisfaction with INC was high, but challenges included confusion with some INC information, structural barriers, and comorbidities. Conclusions: Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes and interventionists found integrative nutrition approaches acceptable and feasible. Future research should examine INC with a larger population and explore optimal delivery of INC given reported challenges.
Objectives: This study describes the development and feasibility of Integrative Nutritional Counseling (INC), a Chinese medicine (CM)+biomedicine-based nutrition curriculum for Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes. Although Chinese Americans often incorporate CM principles into their diet, scant research has explored how to integrate CM with biomedical nutrition standards in a culturally appropriate manner or if such a program could improve diabetes self-management. Design: This is a 1-month pre-post study design including three points of contact: baseline, in-person class, and 1-month follow-up. Subjects: Participants (n = 15) were Cantonese-speaking/reading Chinese Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who had used some form of CM/medicinal foods in the last 12 months. Interventions and Outcome Measures: The INC program included baseline surveys and a CM intake interview conducted by a licensed acupuncturist. The acupuncturist generated a CM diagnosis, which was shared with the participant, and used this diagnosis to tailor brief nutrition education. To bolster this brief education, a bilingual registered dietitian provided a 2-h group education class in Cantonese to all participants, during which time participants also received a Chinese/English INC booklet. Participants completed surveys immediately after the class and at 1-month follow-up, with qualitative exit interviews. Results: Participants reported improved attitudes and dietary habits aligning directly with INC, and improvement in biomedically valued measures of type 2 diabetes, such as weight loss, and CM-valued measures of digestion/elimination and hot/cold feeling. Satisfaction with INC was high, but challenges included confusion with some INC information, structural barriers, and comorbidities. Conclusions: Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes and interventionists found integrative nutrition approaches acceptable and feasible. Future research should examine INC with a larger population and explore optimal delivery of INC given reported challenges.
Entities:
Keywords:
Chinese American; Chinese medicine; integrative medicine; mixed methods; nutrition; type 2 diabetes
Authors: Catherine A Chesla; Kevin M Chun; Christine M L Kwan; Joseph T Mullan; Yulanda Kwong; Lydia Hsu; Peggy Huang; Lisa A Strycker; Tina Shum; Diana To; Rudy Kao; Catherine M Waters Journal: Res Nurs Health Date: 2013-04-19 Impact factor: 2.228
Authors: Deborah J Bowen; Matthew Kreuter; Bonnie Spring; Ludmila Cofta-Woerpel; Laura Linnan; Diane Weiner; Suzanne Bakken; Cecilia Patrick Kaplan; Linda Squiers; Cecilia Fabrizio; Maria Fernandez Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2009-05 Impact factor: 5.043