Grant Promotes Chronic Disease Prevention in Latinx Populations

Arizona State University was awarded $3.3 million to develop a community approach to improve the health of Latinx youth at risk for Type 2 diabetes and expand it to include entire families, a step forward for chronic disease prevention, the University said.

The grant was given to Arizona State University Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation Professor Gabriel Shaibi and the research team for their project, "Preventing Diabetes in Latino Families” by The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

“We are very much looking forward to expanding the potential impact of health promotion and diabetes prevention by reaching more families and engaging more communities,” Shaibi said in a press release. 

Shaibi, who is also the director of ASU’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, explained the grant will build upon work that began over a decade ago to address health disparities in the local Latinx community.

Research indicates that Type 2 diabetes disproportionately impacts Latinx children, families, and communities. According to Shaibi, these disparities are complex and involve biological processes and social determinants of health.

Some social determinants of health include lack of access to care, low health literacy, and certain cultural norms that may increase an individual’s risk of diabetes.

To begin to address the issue, the ASU team searched for entities and organizations outside of the university to collaborate on a community-based lifestyle intervention program.

Working with community partners, the program aims to consider the community, family, peer, and individual-level factors that influence health behaviors and patient outcomes over time.

“We have an amazing team that continues to learn and grow together. We have been collaborating for more than 10 years across multiple funding cycles and are equally committed to advancing the science and improving community health,” Shaibi said.

Longtime collaborators included the Ivy Center for Family Wellness at St. Vincent de Paul, Valley of the Sun YMCA, and Phoenix Children’s. New to the project are the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Arizona Diabetes Coalition, helping to engage additional community partners who could assist in supporting family diabetes prevention across the state.

In addition to the research team at ASU, investigators from the University of Washington, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases have joined the collaborative effort.

“The institutions involved have supported our team in many ways, and I am incredibly grateful to work and learn together in this large and important area,” Shaibi said.

While data is still being analyzed, Shaibi said the results thus far are looking promising.

“The data suggest that participants not only exhibited reductions in risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, but they also reported improvements in quality of life,” Shaibi said.

The next phase of the research will expand the focus beyond children and teens and promote diabetes prevention in whole families.

“By engaging the entire household, we hope to increase the overall impact and extend the reach of diabetes prevention across generations,” Shaibi said.