Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

An Integrative Review of Community Health Advisors in Type 2 Diabetes

  • Review
  • Published:
Journal of Community Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to report findings from an integrative literature review conducted to identify the theoretical basis of interventions for studies using community health advisors; populations and settings served by community health advisors; characteristics, training, and roles and activities of community health advisors; and the effectiveness of interventions by community health advisors for improving self-management of patients living with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Community health advisors’ theoretical interventions were based on providing culturally appropriate care and resolution of health disparities within minority populations. Typically community health advisors were patients themselves living with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Major roles of community health advisors included: supporter, educator, case manager, advocate, and program facilitator. Activities of community health advisors were: coordinating educational programs, conducting educational courses for patients, serving as a link between patients and healthcare professionals, providing counseling, and leading peer support meetings. The effectiveness of interventions by community health advisors was mixed. Examples of outcome criteria were improvements in: knowledge, hemoglobin A1C, low density lipoprotein levels, blood pressure, and physical activity. Community health advisors provide culturally appropriate interventions to promote and restore health and prevent diseases while serving as links between community and healthcare providers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2008). Number of people with diabetes increases to 24 million. Accessed online at: http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2008/r080624.htm.

  2. Cherrington, A., Ayala, G. X., Amick, H., Allison, J., Giselle, C., & Scarinci, I. (2008). Implementing the community health worker model within diabetes management: Challenges and lessons learned from programs across the United States. Diabetes Educator, 34, 824–833.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Nemcek, M. A., & Sabatier, R. (2003). State of evaluation: Community health workers. Public Health Nursing, 20, 260–270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Davis, K. L., O’Toole, M. L., Brownson, C. A., Llanos, P., & Fisher, E. B. (2007). Teaching how, not what: The contributions of community health workers to diabetes self-management. Diabetes Educator, 33, 208s–215s.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Fleury, J., Keller, C., Perez, A., & Lee, S. M. (2009). The role of lay health advisors in cardiovascular risk reduction: A review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 44, 28–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Keyserling, T. C., Samuel-Hodge, C. D., Ammerman, A. S., Ainsworth, B. E., Henriquez-Roldan, C. F., Elasy, T. A., et al. (2002). A randomized trial of an intervention to improve self-care behaviors of African-American women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 25, 1576–1583.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Thompson, J. R., Horton, C., & Flores, C. (2007). Advancing diabetes self-management in the Mexican American population: A community health worker model in a primary care setting. Diabetes Educator, 33, 159S–165S.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. MacPherson, S. L., Joseph, D., & Sullivan, E. (2004). The benefits of peer support with diabetes. Nursing Forum, 39, 5–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Joseph, D. H., Griffin, M., Hall, R. F., & Sullivan, E. D. (2001). Peer coaching: An intervention for individuals struggling with diabetes. Diabetes Educator, 27, 703–710.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Babamoto, K. S., Sey, K. A., Camilleri, A. J., Karlan, V. J., Catalasan, J., & Morisky, D. E. (2009). Improving diabetes care and health measures among Hispanics using community health workers: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Health Education & Behavior, 36, 113–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ingram, M., Torres, E., Redondo, F., Bradford, G., Wang, C., & O’Toole, M. L. (2007). The impact of promotoras on social support and glycemic control among members of a farmworker community on the US-Mexico border. Diabetes Educator, 33, 172s–178s.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Gary, T. L., Bone, L. R., Hill, M. N., Levine, D. M., McGuire, M., Saudek, C., et al. (2003). Randomized controlled trial of the effects of nurse case manager and community health worker interventions on risk factors for diabetes-related complications in urban African Americans. Preventive Medicine, 37, 23–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Joshu, C. E., Rangel, L., Garcia, O., Brownson, C. A., & O’Toole, M. L. (2007). Integration of a promotora-led management program into a system of care. Diabetes Educator, 33, 151s–158s.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Faridi, Z., Shuval, K., Njike, V. Y., Katz, J. A., Jennings, G., Williams, M., et al. (2009). Partners reducing effects of diabetes (PREDICT): A diabetes prevention physical activity and dietary intervention through African-American churches. Health Education Research, 25, 306–315.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Samuel-Hodge, C. D., Keyserling, T. C., Park, S., Johnston, L. F., Gizlice, Z., & Bangdiwala, S. I. (2009). A randomized trial of a church-based diabetes self-management program for African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Educator, 35, 439–454.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Keyserling, T. C., Ammerman, A. S., Samuel-Hodge, C. D., Ingram, A. F., Skelly, A. H., Elasy, T. A., et al. (2000). A diabetes management program for African-American women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Educator, 26, 796–805.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Gary, T. L., Batts-Turner, M., Yeh, H., Hill-Briggs, F., Bone, L. R., Wang, N. Y., et al. (2009). The effects of a nurse case manager and a community health worker team on diabetic control, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations among urban African Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169, 1788–1794.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Fedder, D. O., Chang, R. J., Curry, S., & Nichols, G. (2003). The effectiveness of a community health worker outreach program on healthcare utilization of West Baltimore City Medicaid patients with diabetes, with or without hypertension. Ethnicity and Disease, 13, 22–27.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Beckham, S., Bradley, S., Washburn, A., & Taumua, T. (2008). Diabetes management: Utilizing community health workers in a Hawaiian/Samoan population. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 19, 416–427.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Castillo, A., Giachello, A., Bates, R., Concha, J., Ramirez, V., Sanchez, C., et al. (2010). Community-based diabetes education for Latinos: The diabetes empowerment education program. Diabetes Educator, 36, 586–594.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Culica, D., Walton, J. W., Harker, K., & Prezio, E. A. (2008). Effectiveness of a community health worker as sole diabetes educator: Comparison of CoDE with similar culturally appropriate interventions. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 19, 1076–1095.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Norris, S. L., Chowdhury, F. M., Van Le, K., Horsley, T., Brownstein, J. N., Zhang, X., et al. (2006). Effectiveness of community health workers in the care of persons with diabetes. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 544–556.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Caralise W. Hunt.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hunt, C.W., Grant, J.S. & Appel, S.J. An Integrative Review of Community Health Advisors in Type 2 Diabetes. J Community Health 36, 883–893 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9381-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9381-7

Keywords

Navigation