A multi-site prospective, controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention on the people with Type 2 diabetes in a multi-ethnic group in Glasgow. A modified questionnaire was used to measure the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of diabetes before and after intervention. In addition satisfaction with diabetes care, care providers and the support received from their family were evaluated in a baseline assessment. One-hundred and forty-five people with Type 2 diabetes [(twenty-seven (18%) White, thirty-three (23%) Indian and eighty-five (59%) Pakistani)] were interviewed at community centres (day care centres) and GP practices at baseline. The majority of patients were in their 50s (mean age 58.3 years, SD=11.9, range=33-85). The mean duration of diabetes was 8 years (SD=7.3). Most patients were married (79%), living in their own house (89%), and were living with 4 or more people (51%). There were significant differences among White, Indian and Pakistani groups, for reading ability (P=0.008), preferable language speaking at home (P <0.001), marital status (P=0.03), and home ownership (P=0.02).An educational intervention was successfully conducted for 44 people from ethnic minority groups. There were two control groups, one ethnic control group and one White control group. The intervention consisted of three sessions of about an hour's duration over 6 weeks. The intervention included information sessions on nutrition, selfmonitoring of blood glucose, exercise, other self-care topics and included bilingual diabetes videos. The approach was culturally competent in terms of language, diet, social emphasis, and incorporation of cultural health beliefs. The mains results are as follows: Before intervention Knowledge about diabetes in the White group was higher than in the Indian and Pakistani groups. Indian and Pakistani group regarded diabetes less seriously than the White group. The White group scored significantly higher for attitudes towards control andcomplications of diabetes, indicating a better understanding of the relationship between control and complications of Type 2 diabetes than Indian and Pakistani groups. All groups in this study had some understanding of relationship between control and complications in diabetes. The patients with longer duration of diabetes scored higher, indicating a better knowledge about diabetes. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the mean score for satisfaction with health care providers. There were significant differences in the mean scores of satisfaction with diabetes care among the White, Indian and Pakistani groups. The White group was more satisfied than other groups. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean scores of support needs, amongst the White, Indian and Pakistani groups. After adjustment for some variables the illiterate group scores indicated a need for more support from family and friend. After intervention .There were no statistically significant differences in demography in initial knowledge in the followed-up and dropped-out groups.The intervention produced statistically significant improvements from baseline for knowledge, attitudes toward seriousness, control and complications of diabetes, and practice of diabetes in the intervention group. There were no significant improvements for knowledge, attitudes toward the control and complications of diabetes, and practice of diabetes between the initial and follow up assessment in the Ethnic control group. However, there was a significant improvement in attitudes towards seriousness of diabetes over the study period in this control group. There were no significant improvements for knowledge and attitudes toward the control and complications of diabetes between initial and follow up assessment in the White control group. However, there were statistically significantly improvements for attitude towards seriousness and practice of diabetes between initial and follow up assessments in the White control group. The results suggest that knowledge of diabetes in South Asian groups in Glasgow is not adequate. In the light of the study findings it is concluded that conducting a culturally competence educational intervention in patients with Type 2 diabetes from ethnic minority groups is feasible, and can improve attitudes and knowledge about diabetes. However the control group also showed improvements making interpretation difficult.