Diabetes Education Among American Indians on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation: Improving Educational Interventions in the School Setting

Minority populations such as American Indians (AIs) in the United States experience large-scale healthcare related disparities when compared with non-minority citizens. Diabetes can affect all races and ethnicities across the globe, regardless of age, sex, or location on the map, and affects AIs at disproportionately high rates. While type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is not preventable, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can be prevented and avoided in some instances. The implementation of an evidence-based diabetes program in a school-based setting has the potential to positively improve the health of school-aged children. Based on the need for high-quality diabetes prevention education, an evidence-based educational curriculum was piloted in order to ascertain the feasibility of using such a program to increase diabetes and obesity prevention knowledge in the school setting. The implementation of the Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools (DETS) curriculum in community and school-based settings has been reported in literature. The program is intended to lower the prevalence of T2DM by incorporating lifestyle management options that specifically targets American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) minority communities. Three lessons from the DETS curriculum were presented to the Boys and Girls Club of Three Affiliated Tribes (TAT) in Mandaree, North Dakota. Throughout the curriculum, students were educated regarding T2DM and obesity prevention by engaging in interactive learning activities. The results of the project revealed that community-based interventions for preventing T2DM and obesity can be a helpful way to reach children in the community setting. Overall, this curriculum was effective and successfully taught to voluntary participants. The measures used included qualitative interviewing and learning activities with answers/responses from the participants. Active community involvement by healthcare providers can promote primary prevention through educational activities