My long-term research objective is to become a nationally respected, independent community-based researcher, with a specific focus on using faith-based interventions to reduce diabetes disparities among Latinos. Diabetes is a very prevalent and morbid condition affecting Latinos, especially Mexican-Americans in the United States. Many church-based interventions have shown promise improving health outcomes among minority populations;but data on church-based interventions for Latino populations is scarce. Considering that the church is a center of Latino family and culture, interventions based in churches has promise to have great impact on this population. To our knowledge, no other studies have focused on designing church-based interventions for Latinos with diabetes. My research to date has already allowed me accomplish many of my short-term objectives in my path to becoming an independent academic researcher. With the support from the career development award, I will have the opportunity to refine my skills in community-based research methods and design interventions to tackle health disparities and foster change in Latino communities. I have the following short-term goals over the next five years that I will focus on in this proposal: 1) To gain additional research training and skills;2) To assess the facilitators and barriers of local healthcare providers in linking to church-based diabetes, self-management interventions;3) To design a church-based, culturally-appropriate patient intervention in partnership with faith-based institutions and local healthcare institutions to increase self- management of Latino patients with diabetes;4) To pilot the intervention among Latinos with diabetes with the goal of improving their diabetes outcomes. Considering the growth of the Hispanic population and their disproportionate burden of chronic diseases, developing community based programming and linking these programs to the local healthcare system is crucial to decrease the health disparities among Latinos and has promise to have a high impact on diabetes outcomes on this community. With support from the K23 award, I can improve my skills in community based research and work towards my goal of becoming an independent academic researcher with an expertise in applying community based methods in decreasing Latino disparities in diabetes through faith-based interventions.

Public Health Relevance

My long-term research objective is to become a nationally respected, independent community-based researcher, with a specific focus on using faith-based interventions to reduce diabetes disparities among Latinos. Considering that the church is a center of Latino family and culture, interventions based in churches have promise for great impact in this population. To our knowledge, no other studies have focused on designing church-based interventions for Latinos with diabetes. Considering the growth of the Hispanic population and their disproportionate burden of chronic diseases, developing programming to decrease the health disparities affecting this population is crucial. My research to date has already allowed me accomplish many of my short-term objectives in my path to becoming an independent academic researcher. With the support from the career development award, I will have the opportunity to refine my skills in community-based research methods and design interventions to tackle health disparities and foster change in Latino communities.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
5K23DK087903-04
Application #
8537143
Study Section
Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases B Subcommittee (DDK)
Program Officer
Hyde, James F
Project Start
2010-09-28
Project End
2015-08-31
Budget Start
2013-09-01
Budget End
2014-08-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$173,556
Indirect Cost
$12,856
Name
University of Chicago
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
005421136
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60637
Baig, Arshiya A; Benitez, Amanda; Quinn, Michael T et al. (2015) Family interventions to improve diabetes outcomes for adults. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1353:89-112
Baig, Arshiya A; Benitez, Amanda; Locklin, Cara A et al. (2015) Picture Good Health: A Church-Based Self-Management Intervention Among Latino Adults with Diabetes. J Gen Intern Med 30:1481-90
Baig, Arshiya A; Benitez, Amanda; Locklin, Cara A et al. (2014) Community health center provider and staff's Spanish language ability and cultural awareness. J Health Care Poor Underserved 25:527-45
Baig, Arshiya A; Locklin, Cara A; Foley, Edward et al. (2014) The association of English ability and glycemic control among Latinos with diabetes. Ethn Dis 24:28-34
Baig, Arshiya A; Locklin, Cara A; Campbell, Amanda et al. (2014) Community health center access to resources for their patients with diabetes. J Immigr Minor Health 16:553-8
Stutz, Matthew; Baig, Arshiya (2014) International examples of undocumented immigration and the affordable care act. J Immigr Minor Health 16:765-8
Baig, Arshiya A; Locklin, Cara A; Wilkes, Abigail E et al. (2012) Integrating Diabetes Self-Management Interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic Church Setting. J Relig Health :
Baig, Arshiya A; Locklin, Cara A; Wilkes, Abigail E et al. (2012) ""One Can Learn From Other People's Experiences"": Latino adults' preferences for peer-based diabetes interventions. Diabetes Educ 38:733-41
Baig, Arshiya A; Wilkes, Abigail E; Davis, Andrew M et al. (2010) The use of quality improvement and health information technology approaches to improve diabetes outcomes in African American and Hispanic patients. Med Care Res Rev 67:163S-197S