Impact of the South Asian Adolescent Diabetes Awareness Program (SAADAP) on diabetes knowledge, risk perception and health behaviour

Objective: Evidence suggests the increased prevalence of diabetes among South Asian (SA) adolescents is due to their genetic risk profile. The South Asian Adolescent Diabetes Awareness Program (SAADAP) is a pilot intervention for SA youth in Canada with a family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We sought to investigate changes in (1) diabetes knowledge and associated risk factors, (2) risk perception and (3) health behaviours among adolescents participating in SAADAP. Design: One-group pre-test, post-test design informed by a commitment to community-based participatory research (CBPR). Setting: Sixty-eight adolescents aged 13–17 years with a family history of T2DM participated in SAADAP in a clinical-community setting in Canada. Method: Pre–post questionnaires were administered to evaluate diabetes knowledge and associated risk factors, risk perceptions and health behaviours. Analyses were restricted to 49 participants who attended at least four diabetes education sessions. Results: The mean age of adolescents was 14.5 years, and 57.1% self-identified as girls. The difference in knowledge about the definition, symptoms and complications of T2DM from baseline to post-intervention was 3.32 out of 21 ( p < .001) among SA youth. There was significant increase in learning about diabetes risk factors ( p < .001) from baseline to post-intervention. Almost 60% of participants exhibited no change in their risk perception after intervention. Approximately two-thirds of the participants self-reported positive changes in health behaviours after completing the programme. Conclusion: SAADAP showed promising outcomes in raising knowledge and improving health behaviours in SA adolescents with a family history of diabetes. Larger controlled trials with longer follow-up are recommended to support and expand on the current findings.