African American Perceptions Of Diabetes and Illness Management
Millions of individuals are affected by diabetes worldwide. The illness poses an unusual risk to African Americans. Some researchers have suggested that health behaviors involved in managing diabetes and illnesses in general are intimately related to how an individual perceives their illness. This research is designed to further investigate the association between perception of diabetes and its effect on individual management of the illness across racial lines. Specifically, this project will compare perceptions of diabetes from African Americans and Caucasian Americans to see if there are common attitudes within each group, measure the magnitude of the relationship between perception of an illness and resulting health behavior among African Americans, and assess the extent to which one's perceptions of an illness change as socioeconomic status changes. The perceptions of approximately 100 diabetics in the Champaign-Urbana community will be evaluated by use of the Health Belief Model, MOS SF-36 forms, and in-depth interviews. It is proposed that 1) there will be a strong association between perceptions of diabetes and management of the illness among African Americans; 2) perceptions of diabetes among African Americans and Caucasian Americans will vary greatly; and 3) perceptions of diabetes will vary with socioeconomic status, ultimately indicating that different perceptions possibly contribute to the disproportional incidence of diabetes among African Americans.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Administration
Research Advisor:
Reginald Alston
Department of Research Advisor:
Community Health
Year of Publication:
2003