![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to identify at least three daily food practices in social settings of African-American women with type 2 diabetes.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to utilize learned cultural influences of these daily food practices in order to inform future dietary intervention research.
Objectives:The purpose of this ethnographic study is to explicate cultural influences of food practices of AAW with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in order to communicate these practices to researchers and the health care community. The specific aims are to: describe typical daily food practices and identify cultural influences on food practices of AAW with T2DM.
Design & Method: Symbolic Interactionism, a sensitizing framework for viewing AAW with T2DM as a subculture, guides this study. A purposive sampling plan is being used to recruit 20 AAW who: are between the ages of 35 and 70 years, have been diagnosed with T2DM, and shops and prepares meals for their families. Data collection consists of participant observation of: one to two church fellowship dinners; shopping for food in the grocery store; preparing food in the home; and one-on-one interviews. A social anthropological approach to content analysis will be used to describe behavioral regularities in food practices.
Conclusion: Because AAW are the gatekeepers for food practices of the family, they are the keys to dietary modifications to improve diabetes control. This study will begin to fill the gap in the literature regarding cultural dietary food habits of this population. With increased knowledge, researchers and health care providers will be better able to improve AAW food practices, and ultimately improve diabetes control in this high-risk population.