A Digital Diabetes Storytelling Intervention for the Hmong Community: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Hmong-Americans experience higher rates of diabetes and poorer diabetes-related health outcomes than their White peers. Traditional methods of diabetes education do not reach Hmong patients effectively due to known socioeconomic and literacy barriers. The purpose of this study is to examine the acceptability of a culturally informed diabetes self-management education video tool, using digital storytelling that was created using a community-engaged approach, administered in a single academic clinic that sees a large percentage of Hmong patients. The video tool was successful in the areas of acceptability, story transformation, and story identification; 96% of participants stated that the video felt like something from their community, 88% stated that they could identify with the story, 79% stated that they wanted to know what happened next, and 70% of participants reported that they were motivated to do something different after watching. New methods to improve diabetes education and improve health outcomes in Hmong communities are needed. Culturally informed digital storytelling is one tool, which may be used to improve diabetes health outcomes in this population.

Keywords

Hmong digital storytelling diabetes self-management diabetes education video tool

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ali

A. H.

Kang

M. S.

Kaur

Al Adhami

Yuvienco

C. R.

(2020). Review of Hmong-related health problems: A quick guide for healthcare providers. Cureus, 12(8), Article e9808. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.9808

Harris

P. A.

Taylor

Minor

B. L.

Elliott

Fernandez

O’Neal

McLeod

Delacqua

Kirby

Duda

S. N.

(2019). REDCap consortium. The REDCap consortium: Building an international community of software partners. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 95, Article 103208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2019.103208

Harris

P. A.

Taylor

Thielke

Payne

Gonzalez

Conde

J. G.

(2009). Research electronic data capture (REDCap)—A metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 42(2), 377–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2008.08.010

Joo

J. Y.

(2014). Effectiveness of culturally tailored diabetes interventions for Asian immigrants to the United States: A systematic review. The Science of Diabetes Self-management and Care, 40(5), 605–615. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145721714534994

MN Community Measurement. (2023). Minnesota health care disparities by race, Hispanic ethnicity, language and country of origin report. https://mncm.org/reports/#community-reports

Thao

K. K.

Arndt

Tandias

Hanrahan

(2015). The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Wisconsin Hmong patient population. Wisconsin Medical Journal, 114(5), 190–195.

Wieland

M. L.

Njeru

J. W.

Hanza

M. M.

Boehm

D. H.

Singh

Yawn

B. P.

Patten

C. A.

Clark

M. M.

Weis

J. A.

Osman

Goodson

Porraz Capetillo

M. D.

Hared

Hasley

Guzman-Corrales

Sandler

Hernandez

Novotny

P. J.

Sloan

J. A.

Sia

I. G.

(2017). Pilot feasibility study of a digital storytelling intervention for immigrant and refugee adults with diabetes. The Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care, 43(4), 349–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145721717713317