1. Diabetes awareness among African Americans in rural North Carolina.
- Author
-
Antony AK and Baaklini WA
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Attitude to Health, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 psychology, Health Surveys, Humans, Middle Aged, North Carolina, Risk Factors, Black or African American psychology, Awareness, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ethnology, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Rural Health
- Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the extent of diabetes unawareness in rural North Carolina., Methods: Randomly administered an eight-question survey to African Americans age 15-74 living in Halifax County North Carolina., Results: Ninety-five out of 116 eligible participants completed the survey (82% response rate). Most (67%) of the participants reported having two or more major risk factors for Type II diabetes (diabetes mellitus). More than half (51.6%) of the participants were obese. Most (96.8%) of the participants reported having been tested for diabetes at some point in their lives (10% testedpositive, only 8.4% of the remaining 9o% reported ever having a second test)., Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus is a very prevalentproblem among the African American population of Halifax County North Carolina. Our study underscores the fact that patients are not systematically screened and followed-up for diabetes melitus. More healthcare and commnity programs need to be adapted to fight this serious public health problem.
- Published
- 2004