On every list of potential risk factors one can find “You are African American.” African Americans are more susceptible to developing diabetes and being obese due to many factors. There are several studies on this and more research being done every day. In “Utilizing the common sense model to explore African Americans’ perception of type 2 diabetes: A qualitative study”, Shiyanbola et al. aim to gain clarification on African Americans’ perception of type 2 diabetes. The authors sample 40 African American men and women ranging from ages 45-60. In the article, details of diabetes, its causes, and its effects are discussed in great detail in order to appropriately design intervention techniques specifically for the African American community.
There are many different variations within the sample group of the causes or reasons why one person would develop diabetes. These range from God’s wrath and punishment to government conspiracies. A participant in the sample group believes that God punished them because of “Something I did that I’m not aware or not familiar with or remember…” while another participant believes that the government has manufactured chemicals in foods and vaccines in order to “thin out the population”. Some of the effects of diabetes on the participants include loss of autonomy, loss of social status, and loss of culture. A participant reported that her daughter would not let her babysit her newborn granddaughter when she was born because she might “fall out or stuff…”.
At the end, Shiyanbola et al. conclude that improved self-management of diabetes depends on the perceived stigma attached to having diabetes, if they take advantage of support systems offered to them, and their own personal experiences thus far. The next article “Use of E-Health to Improve Health Literacy and Decrease Health Disparities Among Diabetic African Americans” begins with the statement that African Americans are 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes than White people. Moreover, 25% of African American women over the age of 55 are twice as likely to have diabetes than White women.
This journal argues that increasing the health literacy of African Americans can decrease their suffering from diabetes. Additionally, the article suggests that improving their health literacy using e-health can improve the overall computer skills of African Americans. The article cites the World Health Organization which defines health literacy as “the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health”. For example, those with low health literacy find trouble in reading prescription labels and understanding their instructions. e-Health is using technology such as the Internet to allow patients and providers to improve healthcare in order to provide necessary information for health and decision making.
