Enhancing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Outcomes Through Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Digital Storytelling: A Rapid Review

Enhancing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Outcomes Through Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Digital Storytelling: A Rapid Review | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Enhancing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Outcomes Through Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Digital Storytelling: A Rapid Review Amr Ali Mohamed Abdelgawwad El-Sehrawy, KDV Prasad, Ahmed Faiq Almedee, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7352863/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus represents a rapidly escalating global health challenge, with disproportionate impacts on racial and ethnic minority groups. Conventional diabetes management programs often fail to engage these populations due to a lack of cultural and linguistic relevance, contributing to persistent health disparities. Digital storytelling—particularly when culturally and linguistically tailored—has emerged as a promising, patient-centered approach for improving diabetes education and self-management. Methods This rapid systematic review, conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, examined empirical studies published from January 2015 to July 2025. Four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus) were searched using terms related to “digital,” “storytelling,” “diabetes,” “outcome,” “culture,” and “linguistic.” Eligible studies evaluated digital storytelling interventions for adults with Type 2 diabetes, explicitly incorporating cultural tailoring. Data were extracted and quality was assessed independently by two reviewers, focusing on clinical and patient-centered outcomes. Results Eight studies (n = 1,194), predominantly from the United States and one from China, met inclusion criteria. Participants were mainly females from ethnic minority backgrounds. Interventions utilizing culturally and linguistically tailored digital storytelling demonstrated statistically significant improvements in glycemic control, diabetes knowledge, and self-management behaviors. High satisfaction and engagement rates were reported, with most participants finding the approach motivating and relatable. Mechanisms underpinning effectiveness included the use of culturally resonant narratives, community input, and the integration of preferred languages. Common barriers included limited provider training and patient access to technology. Conclusions Culturally and linguistically tailored digital storytelling interventions enhance diabetes self-management and clinical outcomes among diverse populations, bridging gaps left by traditional education models. Healthcare systems should prioritize such narrative-based, patient-centered approaches to advance health equity. Future research should employ robust designs and involve broader populations to validate and extend these findings. digital storytelling diabetes outcome culture linguistic Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7352863","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":512560459,"identity":"6af1e4a4-1522-4019-a4fc-2a17300b5748","order_by":0,"name":"Amr Ali Mohamed Abdelgawwad El-Sehrawy","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mansoura University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amr","middleName":"Ali Mohamed Abdelgawwad","lastName":"El-Sehrawy","suffix":""},{"id":512560460,"identity":"7e012178-3bfd-4af8-a656-6a2b71728f61","order_by":1,"name":"KDV Prasad","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Symbiosis International (Deemed University)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"KDV","middleName":"","lastName":"Prasad","suffix":""},{"id":512560461,"identity":"189ea629-9873-4207-9830-877639ccf63d","order_by":2,"name":"Ahmed Faiq Almedee","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"the Islamic University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahmed","middleName":"Faiq","lastName":"Almedee","suffix":""},{"id":512560462,"identity":"44b338ae-e5fd-4255-ab17-b28791bc4621","order_by":3,"name":"Sayed M. Ismail","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sayed","middleName":"M.","lastName":"Ismail","suffix":""},{"id":512560463,"identity":"b0ee9c08-4a59-426a-ae50-6306e4b03b98","order_by":4,"name":"Zein Bassam Bani Younes","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jadara University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zein","middleName":"Bassam Bani","lastName":"Younes","suffix":""},{"id":512560464,"identity":"430405b5-55bb-4db4-838b-1338d41f0cb4","order_by":5,"name":"Abhayveer Singh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abhayveer","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""},{"id":512560465,"identity":"fb81fa97-9ae6-4191-97da-5d372b317723","order_by":6,"name":"A. Sabarivani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"A.","middleName":"","lastName":"Sabarivani","suffix":""},{"id":512560466,"identity":"a87ca980-84d5-488b-9d6b-c39ad7706060","order_by":7,"name":"Subhashree Ray","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"IMS and SUM Hospital, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be University)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Subhashree","middleName":"","lastName":"Ray","suffix":""},{"id":512560467,"identity":"e609da91-3961-4ede-8884-c3c24d9c9718","order_by":8,"name":"Kamal Kant Joshi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Graphic Era Hill University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kamal","middleName":"Kant","lastName":"Joshi","suffix":""},{"id":512560468,"identity":"38853467-b844-47ba-abbe-7a38c454a739","order_by":9,"name":"Mohsen Khosravi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABBElEQVRIie3PsUrDQBzH8b8c6HJN5xBIfAHhHw4KQumzJBy0S6sdM4ULhT7D+RaZnK/ekOW0a0CHTLp0uNHBwVAnITF2E7zvdAe/D8cBuFx/MQWEfJ3OiibBaQhAf082aNdzdgqBc1/ah1QMEe9ZEbbO8tux5CKgqBZl9bhrLMzCK9FN/KeEcGn0taxTwSi+rEpzw2MJnE1UN0EDRI+2CsHsBKf4uirVchJQUOn9zyTHqCWaol7g/jBM+GhLEKuiKCTqBOuBV/yWMGo0xlWxAYvz+K4+sFhi/1+8lgQ0yzHUF2/vycc08vbLuLHZLOwjAGP7/X55XGLfvKtInLJ2uVyu/9Anv/1hZJAIKOsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Zahedan University of Medical Sciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohsen","middleName":"","lastName":"Khosravi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-12 07:53:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7352863/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7352863/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108564010,"identity":"ef9bf05e-f25f-4113-bd94-6227b63a98d6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-06 03:55:38","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":549169,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MainManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7352863/v1_covered_9ac9bc8e-fa6a-4ae5-a517-62bb5590cae6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Enhancing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Outcomes Through Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Digital Storytelling: A Rapid Review","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"digital, storytelling, diabetes, outcome, culture, linguistic","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7352863/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7352863/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eType 2 diabetes mellitus represents a rapidly escalating global health challenge, with disproportionate impacts on racial and ethnic minority groups. Conventional diabetes management programs often fail to engage these populations due to a lack of cultural and linguistic relevance, contributing to persistent health disparities. Digital storytelling\u0026mdash;particularly when culturally and linguistically tailored\u0026mdash;has emerged as a promising, patient-centered approach for improving diabetes education and self-management.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e This rapid systematic review, conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, examined empirical studies published from January 2015 to July 2025. Four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus) were searched using terms related to \u0026ldquo;digital,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;storytelling,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;diabetes,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;outcome,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;culture,\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;linguistic.\u0026rdquo; Eligible studies evaluated digital storytelling interventions for adults with Type 2 diabetes, explicitly incorporating cultural tailoring. Data were extracted and quality was assessed independently by two reviewers, focusing on clinical and patient-centered outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEight studies (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1,194), predominantly from the United States and one from China, met inclusion criteria. Participants were mainly females from ethnic minority backgrounds. Interventions utilizing culturally and linguistically tailored digital storytelling demonstrated statistically significant improvements in glycemic control, diabetes knowledge, and self-management behaviors. High satisfaction and engagement rates were reported, with most participants finding the approach motivating and relatable. Mechanisms underpinning effectiveness included the use of culturally resonant narratives, community input, and the integration of preferred languages. Common barriers included limited provider training and patient access to technology.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCulturally and linguistically tailored digital storytelling interventions enhance diabetes self-management and clinical outcomes among diverse populations, bridging gaps left by traditional education models. Healthcare systems should prioritize such narrative-based, patient-centered approaches to advance health equity. Future research should employ robust designs and involve broader populations to validate and extend these findings.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Enhancing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Outcomes Through Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Digital Storytelling: A Rapid Review","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-10 16:48:14","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7352863/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ec370a74-9c37-494b-aa08-2c15dfd9990f","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 10th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-05-06T03:45:26+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-06T03:54:18+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-10 16:48:14","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7352863","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7352863","identity":"rs-7352863","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}