Diabetes Management: Utilizing Community Health Workers in a Hawaiian/Samoan Population

Background. Although not widely utilized, community health workers (CHWs) have been shown to enhance diabetes education and management efforts among racial/ethnic minority populations. Objective. To examine the effectiveness of CHWs on diabetes management among a population with primarily Native Hawaiian and Samoan ethnic minority participants with HbA1c greater than 10%. Design. Descriptive study comparing HbA1c readings of participants with diabetes with and without CHW intervention. Participants . Of 116 eligible participants, 74% were either Native Hawaiian or Samoan. Results. The mean baseline HbA1c for all eligible participants was 10.9 ± 0.8%. The 80 participants who completed CHW intervention had a 2.2 ± 1.8% (p.< 01, compared with baseline) mean reduction in HbA1c, compared with a 0.2 ± 1.5% reduction for those without CHW intervention. Conclusion. Community health workers had a positive impact on diabetes management defined in terms of improved HbA1c amongst this predominantly Native Hawaiian and Samoan population.