Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major chronic illness in the U.S., with 84 million adults being pre-diabetic (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Whereas risk factors are numerous, minority groups are at a particularly greater risk for T2D compared to the rest of the population. The high risk stems in large part from acculturation challenges – difficulties associated with adapting to the host country’s social and cultural norms (Deng, Zhang & Chan, 2013). This is especially true for Asian Americans (King, 2014), with prevalence for T2D being estimated at 9% (Nguyen et al., 2015). Appropriate intervention strategies are important for preventing type T2D in this group. Literature demonstrates that education can be useful for preventing the condition (Kerr et al., 2011; Deng, Zhang & Chan, 2013). This paper provides an evaluation of literature relating to T2D prevention through education. The evaluation is premised on the following PICOT question: Population (Asian Americans newly diagnosed for type 2 diabetes), Intervention (health education to implement patient-specific dietary and lifestyle modifications), Comparison (patients who receive culturally tailored diabetes education with those patients who just receive standard education), Outcome (reduction of A1C levels), and Timeframe (3 months after initial diagnosis). Education is a powerful intervention for preventing diabetes among Asian Americans. According Dr. George L. King, a board member of the American Diabetes Association and a practitioner at the Joslin Diabetes Centre, diabetes awareness among Asian Americans remains a major problem (King, 2014). Asian Americans and even healthcare providers have little or no knowledge of the risk. This is particularly because body mass index (BMI) is not a significant threat for the community like other ethnic communities. It is imperative for healthcare providers to understand what works for the Asian American community, and provide guidelines that resonate with the unique...

For Asian Americans, adhering to a traditional Asian diet with high fibre and low fat and maintaining a physically active lifestyle can be helpful in preventing and managing T2D (King, 2014). Accordingly, educational interventions should focus on familiarising Asian Americans with diets and lifestyles that would help reduce the risk of T2D. Though King (2014) offers valuable insights on T2D risk among Asian Americans and prevention measures, his insights are not preceded by empirical data. Even so, King boasts a strong reputation in diabetes research and practice, making his insights credible. The usefulness of education in T2D prevention has also been supported by Kerr et al. (2011). Nonetheless, though with a large sample (n = 3,871), Kerr et al.’s (2011) study did not specifically focus on T2D education – the main focus of the study was to investigate five-year mortality rates for patients diagnosed with T2D and attending a community-based education program.
T2D education is more effective if it reflects the individual needs of the patient (Nguyen et al., 2015). In other words, it is important to handle T2D patients on a case by case basis. This is because different individuals may have different risk factors, especially in terms of medical history, age, and BMI. Moreover, different individuals may have different preferences for diet and exercise. This means that diets or exercises that may be likable for some individuals may not necessarily be likable for others.

Whereas education is important for T2D prevention, it may be of little use if it is not culturally-appropriate. The importance of culturally-appropriate T2D education is demonstrated in a review of literature by Deng, Zhang & Chan (2013). Cultural values, beliefs, and practices tend to differ from one racial or ethnic…