Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Chester Jones

Abstract

Despite elevated prevalence of diabetes among Hispanic, Hispanic older adults face challenges in self-control and management of their glucose levels, and they have less access to preventive health care services. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine the associations between access to preventive health care services and Type 2 diabetes outcomes among Hispanic adults aged 65 years and older. The social-ecological model provided the framework for the study. The research question for this study examined the extent to which doctor visits, diabetes education and blood sugar checks correlate with HbA1c levels. Data were collected from 566 participants using the 2015–2016 and 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Chi-square tests of independence and binomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether there was an association between HbA1c levels and doctor visits, diabetes education, and blood sugar checks and the extent to which a participant’s diabetes status could be predicted based on the independent variables, respectively. The results showed statistically significant associations between access to preventive health care services and Type 2 diabetes-related outcomes among Hispanic adults age 65 years and older. After controlling for age, gender, income, and language spoken at home, the results of binomial logistic regression analyses indicated that older Hispanic adults with diabetes were significantly more likely to receive preventive health care services than those with no diabetes. The findings suggested that culturally appropriate preventive health care services might have positive implications for diabetes-related outcomes in older Hispanic adults.

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