Table 2.

Theme: Proposed strategies to enhance Peers EXCEL’s impact in African American communities

Subthemes	Quotes
Strategies to broaden the reach of the program by engaging a variety of people in different roles	“Because it’s going to take a group of people to disseminate the information. There’s not enough people. I wish there was more of y’all to disseminate, educate our community. So we need people playing different roles at different levels to get the job done” – HLWD Participant #2
Engage physicians to increase participation and partner with them in the program	“…So maybe reaching out to some of the participants’ doctors and say, … ‘Can you share this information with some more of your [patients]?’… Somehow connect with the doctors and sort of be [working] hand in hand. That way [participants are] getting double support from your doctor and the peer person.” – Peers LEAD Participant #8
Engage family members in the program	“You know, like I said, it’s good sometimes to bring [participants’] mates because they’re not in it by themselves. If you’re living [with a] husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever, and are you the one cooking the meals? Bring [those people], open it up to family members”. – Peers LEAD Participant #8
Engage older and younger people with diabetes differently by tailoring to their needs	“Now the setting might have to be a little different because when you’re dealing with senior citizens with diabetes… you might have to change the dynamics to educating youth with diabetes… So if you have a young person, and you have a [Peers LEAD] Ambassador with them… [who is] African American… I think that they would be more readily [accepting of the program], and also understand that this isn’t a doom and gloom… you still have a quality of life. … and then you got some tools that you can use to maintain the qualities of life.” – HLWD Participant #3
Ideas for physical locations to host the program	“I think your program needs to be centralized in terms of having concrete building, a place where it’s designed for these programs to move forward. I mean, if I could go to a building that … has a big ol’ sign on the door, and I’m walking there, and there’s exercise equipment… [I’d think,] ’Oh, this is a unique place!’ … A place for diabetics to have a more healthy living and for them to interact.” – HLWD Participant #4 “Instead of the [participants] coming to us, there has been situations where if they lived in a senior or a HUD housing, I would set up the meetings … if I got three or four people that said, ‘Hey, I want to do this.’ I would put out a flyer in the building and let them recruit … others in the building … People would walk by because it’s in that senior complex. They would say, ‘Well, what are you guys doing?’ And when we explain it, they’ll say, ‘Oh, I got diabetes’ or ‘My sister has diabetes, you know. Can I get in the class?’ … We would start a whole second group … Sometimes, we have to take the message to [the participants].” HLWD Facilitator #2