Community-Based Lifestyle Intervention for Primary and Secondary Prevention of Diabetes in Arab Women in East-Jerusalem

Overview

Given the extremely high incidence of diabetes in Arab women and the current lack of interventions, all non-diabetic women can be considered "at risk" and warrant secondary prevention. Creating an effective community-based primary and secondary diabetes prevention program has the potential for nationwide reduction of health disparities for Arab women. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention in reducing risky health behaviors and thus reducing modifiable risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, through dietary modification, adherence to healthy low-caloric, low-fat diet and engaging in physical activity.

Given the extremely high incidence of diabetes in Arab women and the current lack of interventions, all non-diabetic women can be considered "at risk" and warrant secondary prevention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of lifestyle intervention in reducing risky health behaviors and thus reducing modifiable risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, through dietary modification, adherence to healthy low-caloric, low-fat diet and engaging in physical activity. Methods: The invistigators will conduct a quasi-experimental, pre-post intervention study between to investigate the effectiveness of community based intervention to change lifestyle habits and consequently reduce the modifiable risk factors for developing diabetes at all levels of prevention. All members of two targeted Arab women's community centers in East-Jerusalem will be invited to participate in the study. Potential participants will be interviewed for eligibility (over age 25, able to commit to the intervention timetable, and precluding pregnancy or serious mental and physical illness). Participants who will be included in the control group will not receive any intervention. The intervention group will be located in one community center in Zur-Baher neighborhood, and the control group will be located in one community center in the old city of Jerusalem. Data will be collected from both groups. Intervention: The Community-Based Lifestyle Intervention (CBLI) was developed based on the gold standard Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and adapting all intervention components to the specific culture, language, gender, and religious sensitivities of Palestinian female society. The intervention consisted of 20 weekly sessions and will be taught by professional facilitators (nutritionists, exercise trainers, health coaches, and psychotherapists). The DPP's lifestyle curriculum includes sessions on nutrition, physical activity, stress management skills, and self-monitoring and was culturally adapted, translated into Arabic, and gender tailored.