Perspectives on a Novel Culturally Tailored Diabetes Self-Management Program for African Americans: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Professionals and Organizational Leaders

Background: There is an urgent need for culturally tailored diabetes self-management education to improve health outcomes in African Americans, especially given the disproportionate prevalence of diabetes and medication non-adherence. Stakeholder engagement can guide and enrich the development of these interventions by integrating content directly addressing barriers to African Americans' adherence with existing community-based diabetes self-management education programs. The aim of this study is to explore stakeholder perspectives on a novel culturally tailored diabetes self-management program for African Americans. Methods: Thirteen semi-structured individual interviews were conducted in a large Midwestern U.S. city with healthcare professionals and organizational leaders serving African American communities and/or providing diabetes education. Transcripts were analyzed using directed content analysis with the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and inductive content analysis. Results: Five overarching themes were identified: (1) fulfill needs among stakeholders, (2) creating a supportive and trusting environment to address distrust, (3) building relationships and empowering peers, (4) logistical organization barriers to program implementation and (5) challenges to program acceptance by participants. Conclusion: Stakeholders delineated how the new culturally tailored diabetes self-management program aligned with the needs of African American patients. Perceived challenges and corresponding strategies to address barriers to participation were identified to inform program implementation and sustainability.