Participation
Between January and December 2021, 39 workshops (see Table 1) were conducted with a total of 519 participants attending at least one out of six sessions. Only 267 participants attended 4 or more sessions and 217 participants completed a retrospective survey after the workshop.
Race/Ethnicity
Overall, participants were predominantly Hispanic/Latino 175 (81%), followed by White/Not Hispanic 31 (14%). The race/ethnicity of the English-language participants showed 29 (51%) identified as White (Not Hispanic), 20 (35%) as Hispanic/Latino, 3 (5%) as African American/ Black, 2 (4%) as American Indian/ Alaska Native, 1 (2%) as Asian, 1 (2%) as Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, and 1 (2%) as other.
The race/ethnicity of the Spanish-language participants, 156 (98%) identified as Hispanic/Latino, 2 White (No Hispanic), 1 (1%) as African American/ Black, and 1 (1%) as other.
Language
Of the 217 who participated in this survey, 160 (74%) took the class in Spanish and 57 (36%) in English.
Gender
Participants identified themselves predominantly as females 165 (76%). Out of the 57 total participants that completed the workshop in English, 45 were females (79%) and 12 (21%) males. Of the 160 in the Spanish cohorts, 120 (75%) were females and 40 (25%) were males. Female participation was three times higher for both languages. The condition that most participants have been diagnosed with are 149 (69%) with diabetes, 76 (35%) with hypertension/ high blood pressure, 42 (19%) with arthritis, 30 (14%) with asthma, 13 (6%) with heart disease, and 3 (2%) with lung disease.
Questionnaire
As shown in Table 2, out of the overall English and Spanish participants, 150 (69%) had not previously used Zoom. However, 190 (88%) did not find it difficult to use. Only 29 (13%) had taken an online class like this one (not necessarily self-management). If given the opportunity again, 159 (73%) of the participants would choose to take the class online vs in-person.
Thirty-five participants provided feedback on what they found most difficult about using Zoom. The most common response acknowledged the challenge of connecting their audio. Other challenges participants faced were logging in to class, turning on the microphone, turning up the speakers, connecting the camera, and turning on and off the microphone. Participants also acknowledged that when children were present, they played a crucial role in their connection experience, as they assisted them to connect, use Zoom features, and disconnect from class.
As shown in Table 3, overall, the participants lives were impacted due to COVID-19 through stress, isolation, and day-to-day life. Though most were different across the five different ranges: not at all, slightly, moderately, very, and extremely; a combined 83 (38%) of participants reported being very and extremely impacted by stress. A combined 73 (34%) felt very and extremely isolated. And again, very, and extremely combined, represented a 107 (49%) of participants impacted in day-to-day life by the pandemic.
As shown in Table 4, participants showed improvement in all the areas measured. They improved their ability to maintain a healthy diet, regulate their sleep, identify a problem, and know how to find a solution. They also reported to be more physically active and read food labels more. They practiced effective decision making and breathing techniques more. They increased their knowledge to create an action plan, manage pain and fatigue, make informed decisions regarding treatments, and identify ways to manage negative thinking. They are confident they can effectively manage their health condition by the end of the workshop.
As shown in Table 5, overall and in both English and Spanish classes, this workshop impacted the participants positively. The classes were very helpful, helped them learn about how to deal with stress, how to manage their chronic condition. In addition, they enjoyed taking this online program and were satisfied with the facilitators. Eighty nine percent are extremely likely to recommend this workshop. Seventy one percent rated the workshop as excellent and 24% as very good.
Epic
Thirty percent (65/217) of participants had an HbA1c that met the criteria to be used as baseline for this report. The criteria consisted of having an HbA1c measure in Epic, their health record system, no older than 3 months from the start date of the workshop they enrolled in. Table 6 presents the HbA1c mean at baseline, after workshop, and mean change. The after-workshop mean could be anywhere within 12 months from workshop’s end date. The mean change was of 1.5 percentage points. The median for participants at baseline was 10.1 decreasing for after-workshop baseline at 8.1. Out of 65 participants that met the criteria, 46 reduced their HbA1c.
Zoom
Between January and December 2021, there were participants that already knew how to use Zoom, but there were others that even had never heard of it, with this second group representing the majority. Program Coordinators reported a reduced number of patients needing assistance with Zoom overtime. The majority of participants (90%) used a smartphone and the other 10% reported using a different electronic device not specified in the data collected.
Participant’s acceptance on the use of Zoom was overwhelmingly evident. Data show similarities on the use of Zoom and acceptance of online classes between both English and Spanish-language participants.
Only 5% of YVFWC patients that were invited to the program did not have an electronic device and internet service.