Native American Diabetes Project
Staff, Background, Philosophy
What is the Program Philosophy of the Office of Native American Diabetes
Programs?
The Office of Native American Diabetes Programs purpose is to help
people live longer and healthier lives with diabetes through the development
of culturally acceptable educational curriculums that are designed to improve
the health of persons living with diabetes and that of their families.
This has been a joint effort and is based on 12 years of work with Indian
people with diabetes, their families and the communities.
The Curriculum
The important educational goals of the project are:
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To listen to the ideas from the community.
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To suggest exercise that is fun and good for everyone and that people will
be able to do.
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To encourage people to ask for help from family and friends to make these
changes easier and fun.
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To inform the community that increasing exercise and decreasing fat and
sugar in the diet is good for everyone and may prevent diabetes.
It is also our goal that by participating in this specially designed curriculum,
Native American people will be Strong in Body and Spirit!
Why a Diabetes Education Program?
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Diabetes is a major health problem for Native American people.
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Diabetes is increasing in Native American communities and is occurring
at an earlier age.
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Deaths from diabetes are on the increase in Native American communities.
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Diabetes complications can be postponed or prevented by keeping the blood
sugar in good control.
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Blood sugar can be controlled by eating less fat and less sugar and exercising
more.
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Exercising more and eating less fat and less sugar may prevent diabetes
and is good for the entire family and the community.
The curriculum “Strong in Body & Spirit!”
Strong in Body and Spirit! is a program designed to help people eat
healthy foods and increase exercise. This is done by: listening
to ideas from the community, suggesting exercises that are fun and good
for everyone; helping people know foods to eat that are low in fat and
low in sugar but still taste good; and giving people ways to ask for help
from family and friends to make these changes easier and fun.
What you can expect from the program.
We are going to be talking about:
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Exercises that are fun and good for everyone and that you will be able
to do.
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Foods can be low in fat and low in sugar and still taste good.
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Ways of asking for help and support from your family, friends and community
in making health lifelong changes easier and fun.
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Most importantly, that exercising more and eating less fat and less sugar
is good for everyone and may prevent diabetes and its complications.
How to be successful with this program.
Taking the time to make healthy changes into a habit should be done
one step at a time to ensure success. It is recommended that as you
go through this program, that you give yourself the time to make one successful
change before you add another change.
We hope that you enjoy this program as much as we have in developing
it.
If you are interested in learning more about our office and our programs,
please contact:
Office of Native American Diabetes Programs
University of New Mexico/Department of Internal Medicine
1720 Louisiana Blvd., NE, Suite 312
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110
Telephone No. (505) 272-8465
Copyright January 1995, First Edition, University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Diabetes, Digestion, and Kidneys (grant number DK9217). the grant period is August 1993 to July 1997.