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The diabetes experiences of Aboriginal people living in a rural Canadian community
Author(s) -
Barton Sylvia S.,
Anderson Nancy,
Thommasen Harvey V.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2005.00709.x
Subject(s) - qualitative research , gerontology , relevance (law) , medicine , diabetes mellitus , psychology , nursing , sociology , political science , social science , law , endocrinology
Objective: To optimise participation with Aboriginal people by sharing experiences of living with the challenges of diabetes in rural south‐western Canada, and how these could be addressed.Design: Qualitative content analysis of semi‐structured and conversational interviews.Setting: Diabetes health services in the Bella Coola Valley, British Columbia, Canada.Subjects: Eight Nuxalk Nation participants, five women and three men, living with type 2 diabetes, were interviewed. Four of these participants, three women and one man, were engaged in six follow‐up conversational interviews.Main outcome measures: The descriptive research explored experiences of Nuxalk people living with the challenges of diabetes, and how these could inform diabetes health services in culturally specific ways.Results: Challenges included understanding the connections between (i) diabetes and western or traditional medicines; (ii) dietary changes, exercise and weight loss; (iii) how health professionals communicate and the relevance of what is said; (iv) having many life choices and the responsibility to choose; and (v) a belief in living day by day and an awareness of life cycles that may need to be broken.Conclusion: The study substantiated the fundamental necessity for diabetes health services to be inclusive of Aboriginal perspectives.