Qualitative Findings of a Culturally Tailored Rural Diabetes One-Day DSMES Program in Eastern Colorado

DSMES is an essential component to equip people with diabetes to improve health behaviors and outcomes, and accessing culturally tailored and accessible DSMES services in rural communities is challenging. The Rural Diabetes One-Day (R-D1D) intervention used CBPR to adapt complex clinical information about diabetes into locally-relevant, actionable messages and materials. The products accompanied the implementation of a one-day 5-hour long DSMES program tailored to a rural community delivered to English and Spanish-speaking adults with diabetes in eastern Colorado. A second cohort will take place in Spring 2022. As part of an iterative design, key informant interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals and staff from participating clinics. A trained member of the study team used a semi-structured interview guide to collect qualitative data from clinical staff. A total of 6 individuals were interviewed from two clinics. Key themes included close-knit relationships between clinical staff and their patients with diabetes, lack of resources for patients in rural communities, and ongoing need for DSMES programs available through primary care clinics - particularly for patients with newly-diagnosed diabetes. Practice staff reflections on the R-D1D program were positive. Interviewees appreciated having a program offered to both English and Spanish-speaking patients to address disparities among their patient population. Staff reported patients appreciated meeting as a group - in a supportive setting - and enjoyed having access to a professional class made for them and offered to them. Changes recommended included setting the intervention date in advance, offering a program overview at a staff meeting to ensure all team members were aware of the program and felt comfortable discussing it with patients, and offering the class in the requested language. R-D1D will undergo iterations, as guided by these interviews, in the next phase of this research. Disclosure K.Curcija: None. G.Latendresse: None. T.Oser: Advisory Panel; Cecelia Health, Dexcom, Inc. M.L.Litchman: None. B.Kwan: None. L.K.Zittleman: None. J.Neuberger: None. C.Sutter: None. E.Iacob: None. S.J.Gonzalez: None. Funding National Institute of Nursing Research 1R56NR019466-01