Abstract
Purpose
To measure the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) among Haitian Americans Afro-Caribbeans living in the United States.
Background
Devastatingly, 422 million individuals are affected by DM (WHO, 2021). In the United States, the age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes is 16.8% in Black, non-Hispanic Americans (CDC, 2020). Haitian Americans (HAs) are among vulnerable populations that experience challenges to treatment and management of DM. In the U.S. HAs are often subsumed in the Black demographic therefore there is limited data addressing the prevalence of DM in this population.
Methodology
The purpose of quantitative descriptive study was to measure the prevalence of DM among 151 Haitian Americans Afro-Caribbeans using a convenience sample HAs in health fairs and community events in New York, New Jersey, and South Florida.
Results
Age adjusted prevalence of DM among the HAs living in the US was 39.9% (95% CI 29.8% - 50.1%). This is more than twice the prevalence of in the Black, non-Hispanic population (16.8%) and the general US population (12%).
Conclusion
The findings of this pilot study showed a prevalence rate of DM that may be as high as Native Americans of the Pima tribe, the highest rate of any group in the world. HAs are an economically challenged group of Black individuals who face many obstacles to care including a language barrier and stigma as immigrants. In the US, Haitian Americans are a rapidly growing group that is nearly 50 times larger than the population of Pima Indians. Therefore, if this epidemic in the Haitian Americans is not addressed it will create a public health disaster for this marginalized community.
Interprofessional Implications
This study included a diverse group of researchers with unique perspectives in the disciplines of nursing, medicine, and mathematics. Likewise, in keeping with social justice it is imperative to encourage health providers, community organizations, and policy makers to provide financial support to promote aggressive diabetes screening and education to Haitians in order to increase health equity and to decrease health disparities in Haitian American Communities.
