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Dietary management of type 2 diabetes mellitus among South Asian immigrants : A mixed-methods study
Wan, Ching Shan Rawat, Priya Gulyani, Purva Elmi, Yusra Ng, Ashley H.
Wan, Ching Shan
Rawat, Priya
Gulyani, Purva
Elmi, Yusra
Ng, Ashley H.
Abstract
Aims
There is a high prevalence of South Asian immigrants in Australia living with type 2 diabetes mellitus, with the dietary management of the condition presenting as a key challenge. However, their current dietary patterns and barriers to diabetes self-management are unclear. Therefore, this study aims to (i) investigate current dietary patterns and (ii) explore barriers and facilitators to dietary management in this population.
Methods
A concurrent mixed-methods study comprising three 24-h dietary recalls and a semi-structured interview for each self-identified South Asian immigrant adult with diabetes recruited across Victorian primary care clinics and social media to address the aforementioned two aims. Dietary recall data were converted into food groups using Foodworks, and data analysed in SPSS. Qualitative data were thematically analysed using NVivo.
Results
Among 18 participants recruited, 14, 16 and 17 participants had grain, fruit and dairy intake lower than daily Australian recommendations, respectively. These findings echoed qualitative data that participants viewed diabetes management as reducing carbohydrate intake. Participants reported difficulties incorporating diabetes-related dietary and lifestyle recommendations into their routine and a lack of knowledge about available organisational support. They mentioned challenges in receiving social support from families and friends and relied on support from health professionals. Facilitators included proficiency in nutrition information label reading and self-blood glucose monitoring skills.
Conclusion
Enhancing the accessibility to organisational support, facilitating the adaption of dietary recommendations into individuals' routines, and strengthening support from health professionals are essential components in intervention development to improve diabetes management for South Asians.
Keywords
disease management, emigrants and immigrants, type 2 diabetes mellitus
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Nutrition and Dietetics
Book
Volume
80
Issue
4
Page Range
413-424
Article Number
ACU Department
Nursing Research Institute
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© 2023 The Authors. Nutrition & Dietetics published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Dietitians Australia.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.