Vol. 2003 No. 1 (2003)
Community-Driven Health Information Campaigns for Diabetes Prevention Among Urban Ethnic Minority Groups in South Africa: An Intervention Study
Abstract
Urban ethnic minority groups in South Africa are at higher risk of developing diabetes due to socioeconomic factors such as poverty and limited access to healthcare. A mixed-methods approach including surveys, focus groups, and observational studies was employed to assess pre- and post-campaign changes in awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to diabetes prevention. The study utilised a matched-pair design with control and intervention groups. Community engagement led to an increase of 25% in knowledge about diabetes risk factors among participants compared to baseline levels. There was also a significant shift towards healthier dietary habits, with a proportion of 30% adopting recommended eating patterns post-campaign. The intervention demonstrated promising outcomes in improving health literacy and promoting positive lifestyle changes within the target population. Future research should explore long-term sustainability strategies and scalability of these community-led campaigns to broader urban ethnic minority populations. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.