Characteristics of diabetes prevention translation programs targeted towards African American populations through the lens of the CDC's recognition program

Reducing type 2 diabetes (T2D) is currently of public health significance since diabetes is considered to be a major national epidemic in the United States. While diabetes affects all racial/ethnic groups, African Americans are disproportionately diagnosed with T2D when compared to Non-Hispanic whites. With such pronounced disparities, it is crucial that effective interventions are critically developed and examined for their impact on populations considered to be at high risk for T2D. The CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) aims to reduce diabetes incidence rates by working with public and private partners to translate the effective and evidence-based lifestyle intervention for individuals with prediabetes into community settings. In order to ensure the standardization and fidelity of translated programs, the CDC created the Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program (DPRP). The DPRP highlights standard guidelines that are considered key components of the DPP curriculum and offers organizations/programs implementing the intervention an opportunity to be nationally recognized. Many individuals aiming to translate the DPP for their targeted populations use current research as a guide for program development and implementation. However, the DPRP’s standard guidelines have not been assessed systematically for translational research components and outcomes of published studies. This thesis, therefore, aimed to understand the characteristics of translational research through the lens of the DPRP. Two previously published systematic reviews were analyzed for this article. The first systematic review explored DPP translational research among the general population, whereas the second systematic review explored translations of the DPP specifically among African American populations. Overall, the results indicate that for both systematic reviews, only 15.4% of the articles met all of the assessed DPRP variables. However, studies among the general population were more likely to meet curriculum components, short-term weight loss goals and program eligibility requirements when compared to studies among African Americans. In conclusion, this thesis highlights the importance of assessing and reporting the DPRP standards in translational DPP research, particularly studies among racial and ethnic minorities. Assessing standard guidelines in research may increase the number of nationally recognized DPP programs that are translated and implemented into high-risk communities, hence, making a broader public health impact