Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a school-based health program in which family medicine residents trained healthy at-risk adolescents to become diabetes self-management coaches for family members with diabetes.
Methods: A mixed methods study included 97 adolescents from 3 San Francisco Bay Area high schools serving primarily ethnic minority youth of low socioeconomic status. Physicians came to schools once a week for 8 weeks and trained 49 adolescents to become coaches. Student coaches and 48 nonparticipant students completed pre- and posttest intervention questionnaires, and 15 student coaches and 9 family members with diabetes gave in-depth interviews after participation. Linear regression was used to determine differences in knowledge and psychosocial assets on pre- and posttests between student coaches and nonparticipant students, and NVIVO was used to analyze interview transcripts.
Results: After controlling for initial score, sex, grade, and ethnicity, student coaches improved from pre- to posttest significantly compared to nonparticipants on knowledge, belonging, and worth scales. Student coaches reported high satisfaction with the program. Articulated program benefits included improvement in diet, increased physical activity, and improved relationship between student coach and family member.
Conclusions: Overall, this program can increase diabetes knowledge and psychosocial assets of at-risk youth, and it holds promise to promote positive health behaviors among at-risk youth and their families.
© 2014 The Author(s).