Using participatory research to build an effective type 2 diabetes intervention: the process of advocacy among female Hispanic farmworkers and their families in Southeast Idaho

Abstract

The Formando Nuestro Futuro/Shaping our Future project (herewith, Formando) is a community-based participative research (CBPR) focused on type 2 diabetes. It was conceptualized and designed by a team of university-based researchers and community health workers (promotores). This article describes the process of establishing a CBPR project such as Formando and the most current results from that project. The Formando project is an example of health-focused advocacy with the Mexican agricultural workers in Southeast (SE) Idaho. To date, 172 qualitative interviews on participants' knowledge about type 2 diabetes have been carried out with farmworker women and their families. Biometric data (heights, weights, blood pressures and fasting blood glucoses) were obtained from participants. Fieldnotes, focus group discussions and key informants were used to triangulate findings. Significant quantitative findings include that age was significantly associated with Body Mass Index (BMI) (p < 0.001, Spearman Correlation < 0.001) and with elevated fasting blood glucose (p < 0.001, Spearman Correlation < 0.001). The qualitative interviews were thematically analyzed. Key themes associated with type 2 diabetes in this community were the connection between thinness and vanity, dieting and starvation and the onset of diabetes as a result of, what social scientists call, structural violence within the immigrants' daily lives. We conclude that long-term commitment to using the CBPR approach in these Mexican agricultural communities is an effective way to engage in health research and to establish real and meaningful dialogue with community members.