BACKGROUND: The purpose was to describe patterns of home self-monitoring of blood @entity413 (SMBG) in Mexican Americans with @entity6 enrolled in a @entity6 self-management education protocol. Research questions were as follows: (1) What were the patterns and rates of home @entity413 self-monitoring over the 6-month course of the study? (2) What were the differences in monitoring rates between experimental and control groups? (3) What were the relationships between rates of monitoring and glycosylated hemoglobin ( @entity3916 ), gender, and years with @entity6 ? SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We used a randomized (by group) repeated-measures pretest/posttest control group design. Glucometer data from an experimental group ( @entity6 self-management education plus nurse case management) and a comparison group ( @entity6 self-management education only) were analyzed. Data were collected at baseline and at 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: Overall average SMBG rates were low. Experimental and control group monitoring levels were not significantly different. More females than males never monitored @entity413 values, but more females than males checked at least one time per week. Those @entity1 who checked their @entity413 levels more than once per week had @entity6 for a longer period of time. Rates of monitoring were not strongly associated with @entity3916 levels at 3 and 6 months, but at 6 months @entity3916 levels were statistically significantly different based on whether or not individuals monitored their @entity413 levels (P=0.03, n=71). CONCLUSIONS: SMBG rates were low in this study despite SMBG education and access to free glucometers and test strips. The lower rates of SMBG may reflect the effects of unexpected environmental challenges, but exact causes remain unclear. Reasons for low rates of SMBG need to be explored further, especially in underserved communities.

Blood XXXX self-monitoring patterns in Mexican Americans: further lessons from the Starr County Border Health Initiative.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['participants'] @entity3916 :: ('c|SUB|A|1|C', 'DNAMutation') :: ['A1C'] @entity413 :: ('MESH:D005947', 'Chemical') :: ['glucose'] @entity6 :: ('MESH:D003920', 'Disease') :: ['diabetes', 'type 2 diabetes mellitus']
@entity413 :: (MESH:D005947,Chemical) :: ['glucose']
