Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Diabetes Educator

Publisher

Sage Publications

Publication Date

11-2010

Volume

36

Issue

6

Disciplines

Public Health

Abstract

Purpose—The purpose of this study was to use a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to translate the original Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) to be age and culturally specific for American Indian (AI) youth.

Methods—Tribally enrolled members on 2 Montana Indian reservations conducted focus groups and interviews to discuss community members’ perspectives of factors that encouraged or were barriers to healthy diet and exercise behaviors in AI youth. In total, 31 community members, aged 10 to 68 years old, participated in 4 focus groups and 14 individual interviews. Participants were self-identified as elder, cultural expert, tribal health worker, educator, parent/guardian, youth, or school food service worker. Researchers analyzed transcripts based on inductive methods of grounded theory.

Results—Data analysis revealed translating the DPP to youth was contingent on the lessons incorporating cultural strategies for healthy behaviors in youth such as berry picking, gardening, horseback riding, and dancing; improving knowledge and access to healthy foods and physical activity for youth and their parents; having interactive, hands-on learning activities for healthy lifestyles in the DPP lessons; using a group format and tribal members to deliver the DPP lessons; and having tribal elders talk to youth about the importance of adopting healthy behaviors when they are young.

Conclusions—A CBPR approach engaged community members to identify strategies inherent in their culture, tradition, and environment that could effectively translate the DPP to Montana Indian youth living in rural reservation communities.

Keywords

diabetes prevention, Northern Plains, American Indian youth

DOI

10.1177/0145721710382582

Comments

The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Diabetes Educator

Rights

©2010 Blakely D. Brown, Kari Jo Harris, Jeri Lyn Harris, Martin Parker, Christiana Ricci, Curtis Noonan

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