Exploring prevention-related health beliefs of emerging adults with a family history of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has reached epidemic levels in the United States and, alarmingly, cases of early-onset T2D are steadily rising, with nearly 305,000 new cases diagnosed among 18 to 44 year-olds in the United States each year.1,2 Early-onset T2D (diagnosed before age 40) progresses more rapidly than older-onset T2D3 and is associated with increased risk of developing comorbid cardiovascular and kidney diseases and life-altering complications.2-5 Emerging adults (ages 18 to 29) with family histories of T2D have an especially high risk of developing early-onset T2D and associated complications.2,6 National Diabetes Prevention Programs (NDPPs) are the gold standard for T2D prevention,7 and emerging adults compared to older adults have lower participation and retention in NDPPs.8,9 The underlying reasons for emerging adults’ low NDPP participation, including this population’s T2D prevention-related health beliefs, have been ill-explored.8,9 High perceived threat and low perceived benefits related to the belief that T2D is inevitable paired with high perceived barriers and limited cues to action related to limited healthcare usage may have a powerful influence on emerging adults’ NDPP participation.10 Understanding the T2D prevention-related health beliefs of emerging adults with family histories of T2D can help identify opportunities to intervene to increase NDPP participation. The purpose of this study is to describe T2D prevention- and NDPP-related health beliefs of emerging adults with family histories of T2D, focusing on the perceived threat of developing T2D, perceived benefits and barriers of T2D prevention behaviors, and cues to action. A sample of 20 to 30 emerging adults will be recruited using three methods: recruitment from Indiana University Indianapolis and Bloomington and local community organizations, social media recruitment, and online recruitment from an Indiana-based research registry. Participants will be eligible if they are 18 to 29 years old, have at least one biological parent or sibling diagnosed with T2D, have a body mass index greater than or equal to 25, and have not participated in an NDPP.

Data will be collected with a demographic survey and a semi-structured interview about T2D prevention- and NDPP-related health beliefs. Interviews will be transcribed and analyzed using qualitative descriptive methods as described by Sandelowski.11 Findings will elucidate how health beliefs influence T2D prevention behaviors of emerging adults with family histories of T2D including their NDPP participation and inform intervention development and NDPP adaptation to increase NDPP participation in this population to lower their risk of early-onset T2D. This grant will also support training of the principal investigator in conducting research with emerging adult populations, community-based participatory and intervention research, and postdoctoral fellowship preparation.

Grant Number: 1F31NR021338-01A1
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Jennifer Alwine