Introduction
diabetes, diabetes mellitus, Conkal, Diabetes
VASCULAR COMPLICATIONS, DISEASE, DIABETES MELLITUS, DIABETES, DIABETES
In Mexico, diabetes mellitus mortality rose by 47% from 1980 to 2000 (Diabetes self-management education is the cornerstone of promoting self-care. It connects healthcare professionals with patients to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life. A diabetes diagnosis impacts the patient and family members, often leading to a sense of loss of control over health and a range of emotions, including fear and sadness. This process comes hand in hand with the need to adopt lifestyle changes involving diet, physical activity, medication, and glucose monitoring. While healthcare providers aid in preventing metabolic and vascular complications, individuals are still responsible for making daily decisions and engaging in behaviors that shape their future well-being (Peer support is an effective method for addressing behavioral and emotional aspects of diabetes and promoting ongoing self-management. It is a culturally appropriate addition to diabetes care, offering assistance from community members who have experienced similar life circumstances. Diabetes peer leaders (PLs) aim to optimize educational strategies and outcomes in standard diabetes programs by leveraging their shared clinical conditions, treatment experiences, culture, and language, thereby offering valuable support within the community’s sociocultural context. This peer network offers emotional companionship and guidance, enabling patients to make informed daily decisions. Peer support has improved treatment adherence, metabolic indicators, disease knowledge, and quality of life (Tailoring programs to specific communities and populations is essential, as failure to do so can hinder the intervention’s effectiveness. Even within the same ethnic group in a geographical region, unique characteristics necessitate customized approaches for each community (Diabetes care has been typically poorly delivered to minority populations due to limited healthcare access in such low-income areas, leading to decreased diabetes screening and low exposure to prevention efforts (Yucatan, Mexico, is renowned as the ancestral dwelling of the Maya civilization. This ethnic group has undergone significant demographic, sociocultural, and epidemiological transitions, primarily influenced by rural urbanization. Mayan rural communities in Yucatan confront considerable levels of marginalization (We previously conducted a successful peer-led education program in the Mayan community of Komchen, Yucatan (Here we aim to depict lessons learned from implementing comparable peer-leader interventions for diabetes self-care in two distinct Mayan communities with varying health and socioeconomic conditions (Conkal and Komchen) to inform future educational interventions reliant on peer-leader support in minority groups. Therefore, this paper does not provide a detailed protocol nor present study results as the cornerstone for discussion.