The Limits of Self-Management: Community and Health Care System Barriers Among Latinos With Diabetes

Abstract

Although numerous studies examine diabetes self-care, few regard ecological framework correlates such as community and institutional level factors as fundamental for understanding diabetes management for Latinos. This article addresses the dearth of research that exists regarding social contextual forces and diabetes management for Latinos. Given the scarcity of research on this topic, studies of non-Latino groups were reviewed to illustrate the importance of community and institutional influences on diabetes care. Consideration of fundamental correlates within the ecological framework may better discern the underlying rationale for inadequate diabetes self-management for individuals who live in impoverished communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Latinos
• community
• health care
• diabetes self-management

Notes

This research was funded by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention Dissertation Fellowship and Prevention Research Center Cooperative Agreement U48/DP000028 and, in part, by NCI Grant 5U01CA114593-03 (the Latin American Cancer Coalition). Also, a special thanks to Drs. Jeanne Mandelblatt, Lynn Warner, and Ms. Jessika Angulo-Duarte for their editorial review of this manuscript. This manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere.