Culturally appropriate health education for Type 2 diabetes in ethnic minority groups: an updated Cochrane Review of randomized controlled trials

Aims To give an updated perspective of interventions from additional data collected since our first review, conducted in 2008. Background This updated Cochrane Review incorporates new information from recent randomized controlled trials on culturally appropriate diabetes health education interventions. Methods An electronic literature search of six databases was repeated, with databases of ongoing trials checked and three journals hand-searched. Meta-analysis was carried out for sufficiently homogeneous outcomes, and common themes among trials were highlighted. Results A total of 22 new trials were added to the original 11. Meta-analysis of 28 trials containing suitable data showed significant improvements in glycaemic control (HbA1c) and diabetes knowledge over a period of 24 months, after the delivery of culturally appropriate education to participants, compared with those receiving 'conventional' care. There were no consistent benefits over the control group in other selected outcome measures, and lack of data continued to make analysis of several outcome measures difficult. Conclusions Research activity in this field has increased considerably over the past 6 years, with culturally appropriate diabetes education showing consistent benefits over conventional care in terms of glycaemic control and diabetes knowledge, sustained in the short-to mid-term. Further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these improvements and their cost-effectiveness.