Special Diabetes Program for Indians - The purpose of this project is to obtain the resources needed to provide community-based nutrition education, physical activity, and self-care interventions to address the health problems of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. The Pueblo of Santa Ana is a federally recognized Indian Tribe located 25 miles north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The current population of the tribe is 888 people, with 668 living on the reservation. The entire community from youth to elders is affected by diabetes, obesity, and heart disease; with diabetes being the most prevalent chronic disease at Santa Ana. The Tamaya Wellness Program (TWP) has been providing programming in the community for 23 years, since 1999. The program was initiated using Special Diabetes Programs for Indians (SDPI) funding. SDPI continues to be a major source of support, as well as driving our program to focus on the adult population. Our selected Best Practice is Diabetes-Related Education. The target population for the best practice is adults 18 years and older with diabetes or at risk for developing diabetes. Educational strategies planned include presentations, messaging, posters, tools, demonstrations, online learning platforms, videos, healthy living kits, interactive self-learning displays, classes, and health-related participation incentives. In addition, virtual and in-person learning opportunities that include interactive, hands-on cooking classes will be made available to the community. Our measure will be the number and percent of individuals in our target group who receive education on any diabetes topic, either in a group or individual, virtual or in-person setting. This best practice allows a multifaceted approach to programming that focuses on the key elements of health: nutrition, physical activity, diabetes self-management, and diabetes prevention. Physical activity programs and services will be offered and will include personal training, group exercise classes (examples: Circuit training, Walking Group, Zumba, Water Aerobics) as well as short-term fitness challenges with behavioral or knowledge outcomes. The existing Wellness Center facility which opened in July 2015 allows for increased capacity of programs and activities. Other improvements in physical activity include improved knowledge about activity and improvements in individual fitness levels. Community-based diabetes self-management (DSME) services and programs focusing on self-care strategies will be offered as well as a support group and referral system for diabetes care and hypertension. An existing collaboration with the local clinic includes mechanisms for Indian Health Service providers to refer individuals to the Tamaya Wellness Program (TWP) for education related to diabetes self-management, obesity, pre-diabetes and nutrition services. DSME improvements anticipated include increased level of participation in services, increased knowledge of DSME topics, and support for individuals living with diabetes. All of these strategies will work through existing partnerships, in addition to seeking to develop connections to other potential partners. We’ll use these collaborations to assure the most efficient use of resources, and to expand the reach of all partners’ efforts.
