American Research Journal of Nursing

Along the U.S.-Mexico border, significant disparities exist in the incidence, prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in the Hispanic population, especially males. The target population suffers from the sequelae of lack of long-term management to a greater degree than the general population. The first step in efforts to minimize the consequences of poor disease identification and management (cardiac disease, stroke, limb amputation, etc.) is to screen at-risk individuals and encourage their engagement with positive self-care behaviors. Early detection and effective interventions have the greatest ability to decrease existing morbidity and mortality disparities for Hispanic males in the U.S-Mexico border region. The project utilized screening and brief intervention methodologies in locations convenient to the target population, seeking to increase both identification and follow-up care for Hispanic men with type 2 diabetes and hypertension. All participants were screened for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and body mass. The experimental group received 1:1 motivational interviewing seeking to encourage follow-up and discussion of the results, and the control group received a standard, plain text printout of results with no motivational interview. Follow-up telephone calls and return of stamped, pre-addressed postcards were used to capture follow-up data. The project identified significant incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension within the population and also validated correlation between the two conditions and obesity. Further research is indicated to enhance data capture upon conclusion the brief intervention, for which follow-up contact results were inconclusive due to limited follow-up participation.