An Academic-Community Engagement: A Roadmap for Developing a Culturally Relevant Diabetes Self-Management Program among Vietnamese Americans

Recognizing and addressing culture-specific differences concerning diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) programs can potentially increase participation among Vietnamese Americans with type 2 diabetes and improve health outcomes. This paper describes the academic-community engagement process used to seek input from the Vietnamese community of Oklahoma to tailor a DSMES program. The Community Engagement Continuum (CEC) (CDC, 2011) was utilized as a conceptual framework to engage with the Vietnamese community. The academic team assembled a community advisory board (CAB) of stakeholders, who were selected to advise the team on intervention development; elicited community feedback; and integrated recommendations to tailor the DSMES program. Twenty-three CAB members participated in a minimum of three community engagement meetings over six months. Meetings were structured to elicit feedback and suggestions to ensure that the tailored program was embedded in Vietnamese cultural practices and accounted for community resources and needs. CAB members identified that education and resources must be provided in the Vietnamese language with special attention to culturally relevant adaptations concerning healthy eating and medication adherence. Application of the CEC framework facilitated the inclusion of Vietnamese community perspectives and beliefs, the identification of potential collaborators, the establishment of trust and relationships, and the development of a culturally relevant DSMES program. This engagement process may serve as a model for other underserved minority populations to develop culturally appropriate health promotion and disease prevention interventions.