Diabetes Disparities In Native American Community

The incidences of diabetes are growing annually, and predicted to increase within the coming decades. The number of cases yearly is not only increasing, but the age of onset for diabetes has decreased. This means more individuals are developing diabetes at an earlier age. Diabetes not only affects individuals and communities but countries as well. The prevalence of diabetes has gathered billions of dollars in healthcare costs. [1]Type 2 diabetes also leads to other serious medical conditions such as heart disease, renal failure, blindness, and tissue damage in extremities that will eventually lead to amputation. These illnesses, as a result, result in further costs in the form of disability and the loss of a portion of our workforce. However, incidences of type 2 diabetes are in higher occurrence amongst Hispanic groups. According to the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Mexican Americans have an unusually high prevalence of diabetes compared to that of the general population [2]. Hispanic females have the highest lifetime risk of becoming diabetic – 52% [3], compared to that of the average risk of

Diabetes has recently become a focal point of health care systems around the world due to its high prevalence and the severity of secondary complications caused by the disease. Over the course of my project on diabetes, I have had the opportunity to speak with a group of diabetics to understand from a patient’s perspective how diabetes is managed in a rural community. While I found that while some patients ignored treatment and refused to make any dietary changes, the majority of the patients I interviewed were well-informed and actively managing diabetes in their everyday life.

Since the arrival of Columbus in 1492, American Indians have been in a continuous struggle with diseases. It may not be small pox anymore, but illnesses are still haunting the native population. According to statistics, Native Americans have much higher rates of disease than the overall population. This includes a higher death rate from alcoholism, tuberculosis, and diabetes than any other racial or ethnic group. Recent studies by Indian health experts show that diabetes among Indian youth ages 15-19 has increased 54% since 1996 and 40% of Indian children are overweight. Even though diabetes rates vary considerably among the Native American population, deaths caused from diabetes are 230 percent greater

Although Cherokee nation Clinics and medical centers offer all kinds of treatments to various diseases, effort is more coordinated to common health issues like diabetes. Diabetic related issues are common health issues in the Cherokee Nation. It a serious threat that is known to be one of the top ten cause of death in the United State. Yet, The Cherokee effort and the A1C, a test for the amount of glucose in a person’s blood, are exceeding the national average. Additionally, because healthcare is a high priority for the Cherokee Nation, a huge

Diabetes  is a serious health condition that is a chronic illness for the African Americans. Diabetes preventions strategies in African American community can be a tricky task to contain and prevent for several reasons I will discuss in this paper.

Though American Indians are enjoying an independent public health system with above $3 billion funds provided by Congress annually for delivering healthcare services to them, still figure and facts on health status of American Indians reveal that they are facing many difficulties and have to suffer from diverse type of illness and disease at a misappropriate level. Since long it was identified by medical communities that there are wide spread diseases diabetes, alcoholism, tuberculosis, suicide, unintentional injuries, and other health conditions among American Indian and they are dying of these diseases at shocking rates (American Heart Association [AHA], 2010). Through this essay I want to discuss the healthcare status of American Indians in the perspective of their culture as how it impacted and lead to develop mistrust between amongst the medical community and American Indians.

WIC partners with Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) to provide nutritional services to approximately 63,000 Native American participants. Similar to the general population of the U.S., almost half of Native American women are enrolled in the WIC program (USDA, 2015; Evans, Labbok, & Abrahams, 2011). Native Americans living on reservations are at higher risk of food insecurity and adverse health conditions such as diabetes and obesity than the general U.S population due to economic barriers,

Native American resevations are constantly plagued by alcoholism, domestic violence, and teen suicide. Apparently living in poverty that is bad like this with all of the stress and lack of proper food, links Native Americans to diabetes as well. According to the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, “the ‘thrifty gene’ theory proposes that Aferican Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans inherited a gene from their ancestors which enabled them to use food more efficiently

Native Americans have the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Native Americans are 60% more likely to be obese and are over twice as likely to have diabetes than the general population. These numbers are even higher for Southwest Native Americans. But their diet is very similar to the rest of modern society. So why do Native Americans suffer these conditions at higher rates than the general population? The answer may be found in new research that is beginning to point to a genetic cause for these conditions. In a study by Peggy Halpern, Ph.D. for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she found that historically Native Americans of the

• Funding from CDC, allows the NYSDOH to support other organizations to “develop and implement a range of diabetes prevention and management activities in community and healthcare settings” (New York State's Approach to Diabetes. (2017, June).

Health has become a growing issue among individuals around the world due to a variety of social determinants such as diet, lifestyles, environment, and level of education that impact one’s health. These factors determine whether an individual receives health problems or not – such as diabetes. Among indigenous individuals, diabetes is an issue that is prevalent because of dietary changes in Canada, different lifestyles compared to indigenous ancestors, and whether one lives on or off reserves. Indigenous individuals like First Nations, Metis or Inuit people overtime have adapted to lifestyle changes, which in the end has impacted their health. As the result of being more sedentary in the West, indigenous individuals have developed poor eating habits along with the lack of exercise that comes with living in the West. The environment is a key influencer in the development of diabetes, which will be discussed in this paper by explaining how society and the physical environment are interconnected with diabetes. This research paper will discuss the reasons for an increased prevalence of diabetes among indigenous peoples in Canada compared to individuals of non-Aboriginal status. Furthermore, the prevalence of diabetes among indigenous individuals in Canada results from factors like poor diet, lack of exercise, colonization, lack of access to medical care, and whether one lives on or off the reserves.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the health status of the American Indian/ Alaskan Native (AI/AN). A comparison and contrast of AI/ANs with the national average regarding the health status such as heart disease and strokes will be presented. Multifactorial barriers limiting health, and the overall factors affecting health within this population are identified. Current health status will be presented including health promotion and disparities among this US population. Primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotions will be discussed along with one approach to promoting health offered.

Through REACH, CDC supports awardee partners that will establish community-based programs and culturally-tailored interventions serving African Americans, American Indians, Hispanics/Latinos, Asian Americans, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders. Interventions focus on proper nutrition, physical activity, tobacco use and exposure, and chronic disease prevention, risk reduction and management opportunities. Additionally, awardees will address health disparities in heart disease, diabetes, and infant health. The intent of REACH is to build an evidence base that supports community-centered approaches to reducing or eliminating health disparities. (REACH 2014 Awardees, para.

A large number of Aboriginal Canadians struggle with diabetes. According to Gionet and Roshananfshar (2013), four-percent of Métis, two-percent of Inuits, and six-percent of First Nations living off reserve are living with diabetes in Canada. Diabetes affects the body’s production of the hormone, insulin, that works to regulate the amount of glucose in the body (Canadian Institutes of Health Information 2015). Without the proper treatment, diabetes can lead to heart

Though the ADA does not actually provide healthcare services they target various ethnic populations within the community; provide its residents with resources on how to manage and treat prediabetes and diabetes. Por tu Familia is an outreach program that is specifically designed to provide resources and educate Hispanic communities around the United States. “Diabetes is an urgent health problem in the Latino community. Their rates of diabetes are almost double those of non-Latino whites,” (American Diabetes Association, 2014). While improving and revamping this existing program, Por tu Familia Dos, can create a greater knowledge within the community about how to treat and care for prediabetes and diabetes amongst the Hispanic population. Por tu Familia Dos has a target population that includes individuals of all ages, males and females, who have Type 2 Diabetes and are accustomed to dealing with diabetes on their own. The majority of the projected participants are from low income families and individuals with lower education levels within a specific community. The program will provide participants with additional resources of how to treat, control and monitor their diabetes.