KU News: Research helps tribes combat high rates of diabetes

American Indians have the highest prevalence of diabetes, at 17 percent, of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet fighting the problem is not as simple as a doctor telling an individual to have a better diet and take medication. A University of Kansas professor is harnessing the collective wisdom of tribes and combining it with theory-based approaches for health messages delivery to research new ways to empower individuals and communities to work together to fight diabetes.

Mugur Geana, associate professor of journalism and director of the Center for Excellence in Health Communication to Underserved Populations, known as CEHCUP, is the principal investigator of a grant funded by the Center for Diabetes Translation Research from the Washington University in St. Louis. The study will use a web application developed by Geana to deliver tailored health information about best practices in diabetes management to two American Indian communities in Kansas. The entire approach to the study focuses on the culture, customs and input of community members. CEHCUP representatives have been meeting with community leaders and residents of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Kansas and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska to gather input for the program and its application, as well as to better understand the cultural dimensions that can be leveraged to address diabetes.