The Experiences of American Indian Participants and Site Coordinators in a Gestational Diabetes Risk Reduction Trial

Gestational diabetes mellitus is the most common complication of pregnancy and contributes to increased risk for type 2 diabetes in both the mother and offspring. We developed and evaluated a gestational diabetes risk reduction and preconception counseling program, Stopping GDM (SGDM), for American Indian females. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of American Indian mother-daughter dyad participants and the site coordinators who facilitated the SGDM randomized controlled trial to inform program revisions. We engaged mother-daughter dyads (n = 22 dyads) and site coordinators (n = 6) in focus group interviews. Four themes emerged: (1) SGDM sparked valuable quality conversation for dyads; (2) gestational diabetes risk factors and risk reduction was new information for most dyads; (3) all trial sites experienced challenges to recruitment and engagement; and (4) study-improvement recommendations. These findings will be used to enhance SGDM to decrease adverse intergenerational health impacts of gestational diabetes in American Indian communities.