Salma Mehar*, J St John, A Pillar, J Crawford, B Power and A Wittekind
Background: Over 3 million People in the UK live with Diabetes and over 500,000 of them are from Black Asian and minority Ethnic communities (BAME) communities. BAME communities develop Type 2 Diabetes at a younger age and are disproportionally at risk of complications. Objectives This pilot study aimed to demonstrate that using a picture based, culturally relevant, dietary-  booklet to provide dietary advice for newly diagnosed (BAME) people with Type 2 Diabetes, could enable healthcare professionals to improve the knowledge and understanding of Carbohydrates in BAME communities with Type 2 Diabetes. Method Questionnaire was administered before, and after the participant’s appointment with a Dietician to gauge participants knowledge of Carbohydrates. The newly designed booklets depicted foods commonly eaten by three specific communities prevalent in NW London those of the Gujarati, Caribbean and Pakistani communities. The Carbohydrate content of the foods in the booklets was represented as sugar spoons equivalents, to enable the participants to have a visual representation of the Carbohydrate content of their commonly eaten foods. Aim Using a simple method of sugar spoon equivalents and depicting culturally relevant, and specific foods would enable a better understanding of the carbohydrate content in food in these communities that could be used a tool to facilitate improved self-management of their Type 2 Diabetes. Results The participant's  ability to estimate the Carbohydrate content of foods, snacks and drinks pre and post the intervention showed consistent improvement, as did their confidence in estimating the carbohydrate content of foods.