Open AccessIntegrative Nutritional Counseling Combining Chinese Medicine and Biomedicine for Chinese Americans with Type 2 Diabetes: A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study
Author(s) -
Evelyn Y. Ho,
Genevieve Leung,
Maria T. Chao,
Donald Chan,
Elaine Hsieh,
Sonya E. Pritzker,
Han-Lin Chi,
Siyuan Huang,
Qiao Ruan,
Hilary K. Seligman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the journal of alternative and complementary medicine/journal of alternative and complementary medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.55
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1557-7708
pISSN - 1075-5535
DOI - 10.1089/acm.2020.0558
Subject(s) - medicine , feeling , type 2 diabetes , biomedicine , psychological intervention , family medicine , lifestyle medicine , curriculum , alternative medicine , integrative medicine , massage , nutrition education , gerontology , diabetes mellitus , nursing , psychology , endocrinology , social psychology , pedagogy , genetics , pathology , biology
Objectives: This study describes the development and feasibility of Integrative Nutritional Counseling (INC), a Chinese medicine (CM)+biomedicine-based nutrition curriculum for Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes. Although Chinese Americans often incorporate CM principles into their diet, scant research has explored how to integrate CM with biomedical nutrition standards in a culturally appropriate manner or if such a program could improve diabetes self-management. Design: This is a 1-month pre-post study design including three points of contact: baseline, in-person class, and 1-month follow-up. Subjects: Participants ( n = 15) were Cantonese-speaking/reading Chinese Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who had used some form of CM/medicinal foods in the last 12 months. Interventions and Outcome Measures: The INC program included baseline surveys and a CM intake interview conducted by a licensed acupuncturist. The acupuncturist generated a CM diagnosis, which was shared with the participant, and used this diagnosis to tailor brief nutrition education. To bolster this brief education, a bilingual registered dietitian provided a 2-h group education class in Cantonese to all participants, during which time participants also received a Chinese/English INC booklet. Participants completed surveys immediately after the class and at 1-month follow-up, with qualitative exit interviews. Results: Participants reported improved attitudes and dietary habits aligning directly with INC, and improvement in biomedically valued measures of type 2 diabetes, such as weight loss, and CM-valued measures of digestion/elimination and hot/cold feeling. Satisfaction with INC was high, but challenges included confusion with some INC information, structural barriers, and comorbidities. Conclusions: Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes and interventionists found integrative nutrition approaches acceptable and feasible. Future research should examine INC with a larger population and explore optimal delivery of INC given reported challenges.