Partnership key to preventing type 2 diabetes

A community in Tokoroa has joined forces with their local health provider and Massey University researcher Dr Riz Tupai-Firestone, to tackle type 2 diabetes. The ongoing partnership has been supported by Healthier Lives – He Oranga Hauora.

As one of 11 National Science Challenges set up to address the most pressing issues facing Aotearoa New Zealand, Healthier Lives funds research in the interrelated areas of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

YOUTH LEADING THE WAY

Healthier Lives initially supported Pacific researcher Dr Tupai- Firestone to establish the Pasifika Prediabetes Youth Empowerment Programme study (PPYEP).

PPYEP developed a collaborative partnership between university and community-based researchers, and two Pacific communities (the Fono Health and Social Services in Auckland and the South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services – SWPICS – in Tokoroa). The goal was to empower Pacific youth to become health advocacy leaders.

Supported by this partnership, these young leaders designed programmes that successfully improved factors predisposing their communities to developing type 2 diabetes.

Dr Riz Tupai-Firestone

FAMILY-BASED PREVENTION

The latest diabetes-related project to be funded by Healthier Lives focuses on a diabetes prevention programme in the Tokoroa Pacific community.

The Oire Tokoroa Family Diabetes Lifestyle Programme has been developed through a process called co-design. This is where the community partner (SWPICS), along with the community members and Dr Tupai-Firestone’s university-based research team, collectively design a programme that they believe will work best for the Pacific families in the community.

Co-design of communitycentred programmes is an approach used in many of the Healthier Lives-funded projects and enables more equitable and sustainable programmes.

This latest diabetes prevention programme takes a family-based approach and includes Kai Tari food bags, which contain economical and healthy Pacificstyle food that family members prepare and share together.

‘We’re saving a lot of money with these food bags,’ says a study participant. ‘Seeing the ingredients that we get on shelves and in the recipes, I’ve noticed how cheap some are.’ The participant says that if it weren't for the Kai Tari bags, they’d never have bought ingredients such as lentils.

The programme also includes a family physical activity programme, while whānau sessions facilitated by Pacific health experts (including a diabetes nurse specialist and a GP) will provide knowledge and understanding about managing or preventing type 2 diabetes.

VAEVAE ORO ORO – FAMILY CHAMPIONS

An important component of this programme are the family champions or vaevae oro oro – which means ‘to serve, or doing things actively’. Their feedback reflects the extra benefits that this programme is having for their families:

‘A positive … my kids love to walk. So [the physical activities programme] has motivated me to get back out there and beat that track. ‘I have young kids, so they’re always on the go … They tell you stories about their day, and it’s just been nice to listen to them, just being able to spend time with my kids, listening to them. The exercise has been a real positive for our family wellbeing, and I’ve enjoyed it.’

Now that the programme has been co-designed and is under way, Dr Tupai-Firestone and her team have started collecting data to determine the success of this familybased approach. We look forward to hearing about the outcomes of this innovative and collaborative research initiative.

To find out more about the Oire Tokoroa Family Diabetes Lifestyle Programme, visit healthierlives.co.nz/ research/pacific-diabetes-preventionprogramme.

A 2021 PwC report commissioned by Diabetes NZ, Healthier Lives, EDOR, and philanthropists Tony and Heather Falkenstein showed that Pacific communities are facing the highest burden of type 2 diabetes in this country.