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Title: PERCEPTIONS OF KEY INFORMANTS ON DIABETES AS A MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI DELTA

Author
item DAWKINS, NORMA - SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
item MCGEE, BERNESTINE - SOUTHERN UNIVERITY
item TUBB, THOMAS - ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSP
item SIMPSON, PIPPA - ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSP
item FOMBY, BETTY - SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
item THORNTON, ALMA - SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
item EUBANKS, GINA - SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: American Dietetic Association Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/20/2000
Publication Date: 9/1/2000
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Diabetes mortality is high in the three Delta states of AR, LA, and MS, with LA having the highest rate of 17.5 and 18.2 per 100,000 for males and females, respectively, compared with 11.7 and 10.6 for the national average. From eight sectors:education, health, business, government, religions, voluntary/private organizations informal community leaders and lay representatives, 409 key informants (KIs) were interviewed about nutrition and health perceptions. The hypothesis for this study was: diabetes would not be perceived to be a major health problem. Fewer KIs chose diabetes(19%), than drug addition(37%), cancer(31%) and heart disease (34%). Teen pregnancy (51%) and high blood pressure (54%) were reported most often. Fewer Caucasians (13%) rated diabetes as a problem than did African Americans (27%, P<.001). Among sectors there was a slight difference in perceptions, although not significant at p<0.05. The business sector was (9%) and the voluntary/private organizations were (34%). Males(16%) were less likely than females(22%) to report that diabetes was a health problem. These perceptions are consistent with national data showing higher rates among African Americans and women. Twenty percent of KIs indicated that they were not aware of diabetes screening programs. This study indicates that, the level of awareness of the prevalence of diabetes, the severity of the problem and the availability of screening programs vary among KIs and interventions to enhance awareness in all three areas are needed.