Effects of a Family-based Diabetes Intervention on Behavioral and Biological Outcomes for Mexican American Adults

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a family-based self-management support intervention for adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods: Using a 2-group, experimental repeated measures design, 157 dyads (participant with T2DM and family member) were randomly assigned to an intervention (education, social support, home visits, and telephone calls) or a wait list control group. Data were collected at baseline, postintervention (3 months), and 6 months postintervention. A series of 2 × 3 repeated measures ANOVAs were used to test the hypotheses with interaction contrasts to assess immediate and sustained intervention effects. Results: Significant changes over time were reported in diet self-management, exercise self-management, total self-management, diabetes self-efficacy for general health and total diabetes self-efficacy, physician distress, regimen distress, interpersonal distress, and total distress. There were likewise sustained effects for diet self-management, total self-management, diabetes self-efficacy for general health, total self-efficacy, physician distress, regimen distress, and interpersonal distress. Conclusions: Results support and extend prior research documenting the value of culturally relevant family-based interventions to improve diabetes self-management and substantiate the need for intensive, longer, tailored interventions to achieve glycemic control.