Could the power of a story affect your health?
One study found that watching videos on how other people control their diabetes led to a “modest improvement” in blood sugar control in adults with Type 2 diabetes. More importantly, though, the authors said participants who watched the videos felt more confident and inspired to work on treating the disease.
Hispanic adults are 13 percent more likely than the general U.S. population to have Type 2 diabetes and 17 percent more likely to die from it.
The study included 451 Hispanic adults. Participants watched a 12-minute Spanish-language video promoting a healthy diet, physical activity, glucose self-monitoring, and medication compliance. The videos showcased people with diabetes who had embraced healthy lifestyles.
The study divided participants into a control group that received regular diabetes treatment information in print and an intervention group that watched four inspirational stories of people managing their care. Of the 227 control group members and 224 intervention group members, 390 completed the three-month study.
The subjects were selected due to their poorly controlled diabetes. The mean age of the participants was about 54 years.
The primary outcome was measured by a standard hemoglobin A1c test, which reveals the average blood sugar level for the past two or three months.
Other tests included blood pressure, cholesterol, and body mass index. Participants were also evaluated on their self-management of diabetes and related behaviors.
The authors reported slight improvements across all metrics in the group that watched the videos, although the main benefit was increased confidence and motivation to manage the disease better.
They noted, however, that the videos didn’t translate to statistically significant improvements in behavior during the study.
An earlier study in Australia involving about 600 people with Type 2 diabetes found that their confidence and habits improved after four weeks.
The researchers acknowledged that this three-month study was limited because of its short-term follow-up on a long-term disease.
However, they said the response to the videos showed promise in changing the participants’ behavior, even if they didn’t see a significant change in their health over the three months of the study.
They said the intervention regimen could “be integrated into clinical and public health practice as part of a longitudinal self-management program for Hispanic adults with [Type 2 diabetes].”
