Limited information is available regarding culturally-tailored physical activity (PA) interventions for Hispanic adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A community-partnered approach was used to examine a novel culturally-tailored PA intervention using a pre-post, no control group design. The intervention consisted of six weekly 45-minute sessions for participants to engage in PA led by the researcher. A total of 21 individuals participated in the study. The typical participant was a 53-year-old female (90 percent) Hispanic adult living with T2DM with low acculturation. On average, before the intervention, the participants walked 10,285 (sd 14,779) steps per week with 43.4 (sd 68.1) minutes of PA per week. Despite implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the intervention was feasible and acceptable, and 19 (90.5 percent) participants attended all intervention sessions. There were significant increases in steps per week (p=0.007; d=1.03) and minutes of PA per week (p=0.000; d=1.62). Findings suggest that Salud Paso por Paso has promise as a strategy to enhance PA behaviors in the priority population. A randomized, controlled trial with a larger study sample is warranted to examine efficacy and impact on the diabetes health outcomes of Hispanic adults with T2DM.
Physical activity for the prevention and management of youth-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus: focus on cardiovascular complications
