Exploring the Experience of Type 2 Diabetes in Urban Aboriginal People

David M. Gregory, PhD, RN ¹

Wendy Whalley, RN, BN²

Judith Olson, RN²

Marilyn Bain, RN, BScN, CDE²

G. Grace Harper, RN³

Leslie Roberts, RN, MHSc(A)²

Cynthia K. Russell, PhD, RN, CS⁴ 

Abstract     The experience of diabetes among urban Aboriginal people (status and non-status Indians) was explored through a qualitative study. Because researchers have focused almost exclusively on Aboriginal people living on reserves or in isolated rural communities in Canada, this study conducted face-to-face interviews with participants (n=20) living in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The data generated 3 themes: diabetes as an omnipresent and uncontrollable disease; beyond high sugar: diabetes revealed in bodily damage; and the good, the bad, and the unhelpful: interactions with health-care providers. Findings from this study and previous research support the existence of a pan-Aboriginal model of diabetes. This contemporary cultural stance appears to transcend geography and has implications for the prevention and treatment approaches used in programs and health services for Aboriginal people living with diabetes.

Source     Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 31, 101-115, 1999.

Author Affiliation

1. Faculty of Nursing, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
2. Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
3. Garden Hill Nursing Station, Garden Hill/Island Lake, MB, Canada
4. College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA