Sheldon Riklon
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, AR·Public Health & Epidemiology
In the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), 20% to 50% of adults have documented type 2 diabetes. This is far above global (8.5%) and US (11%) rates.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
type 2 diabetes
diabetes self-management education and support
Marshallese
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jan 2027
What they work on
- Test whether Ājjmuurur Baamḷe, a family-model diabetes self-management program, improves HbA1c, blood pressure, lipids, BMI, and self-efficacy among Marshallese patients, in a cluster randomized trial delivered by community health workers in faith-based organizations.
- Evaluate the effect of the family-model program on participating family members, with assessments at baseline, 12 weeks, and 4 and 12 months after the intervention.
- Conduct an indigenous evaluation to assess how well the intervention and research follow Pacific Islander cultural values and to guide improvements in study implementation.
More about the research
Several factors make these disparities worse. There is little research, little funding, and few services, and culturally appropriate programs are lacking. Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) teaches patients to manage their disease, but no DSMES program has yet been shown to work in the RMI. This project asks whether a family-based, culturally adapted program can improve diabetes outcomes there.
Why it matters
Marshallese people have some of the highest documented rates of type 2 diabetes in the world and are underrepresented in research. If this family-based, culturally adapted program proves effective, it could give health systems in the Marshall Islands and other US-Affiliated Pacific Islands a scalable, sustainable way to improve blood sugar control. Delivery through churches and community health workers could make it easier to reach families.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Gabriel Frietze
University of Texas at El Paso, TX·Public Health & Epidemiology
Identify barriers to and facilitators of joining diabetes self-management programs among Mexican-origin Hispanic adults with type 2 diabetes and their healthcare providers, to guide the design of an online intervention.
Jennifer Campbell
University at Buffalo, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
Test the preliminary efficacy of a diabetes-tailored conditional cash transfer, tied to biweekly nurse-led virtual education and stress-coping sessions, versus unconditional cash on blood sugar control and quality of life in a randomized trial.
Aprill Dawson
Medical College of Wisconsin, WI·Medicine & Clinical Research
Determine whether a health educator-led smart speaker program is feasible and acceptable for adults aged 50 and older with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c ≥8%), measuring recruitment, retention and interview feedback.
The school
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: 7 labs on PI Pages, $227M a year on research, 40 research doctorates a year.
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