The Lower Sioux Indian Community (LSIC) is a federally recognized tribe located in south central Minnesota in Redwood County, approximately two miles south of Morton and 100 miles from the Minneapolis St. Paul metro area. Approximately 145 families live on 1,743 acres of tribal land. As of January 2020, LSIC has a total of 1,272 enrolled members. Over 80% of which live on the Lower Sioux reservation or within the 10-mile federally negotiated service area that spans three counties. Fifty-three percent of our members are under 25 years of age, indicating a growing population. The Lower Sioux community is located 6 miles from the CentraCare hospital, which is classified as a critical access hospital with 18 inpatient beds. Lower Sioux community members also utilize a variety of specialty clinics within a 100-mile radius, but the majority utilize our tribal run clinic, the Lower Sioux Health Care Center, which opened in March 2016. Upon opening of the Lower Sioux Healthcare Center, the SDPI program has been and continues to be housed and administered directly in the clinic. Therefore, for the first time in the history of the Lower Sioux community, we have had direct clinical access to our community member's medical information and care. The target group the SDPI coordinator will plan to serve and report RKM data include those Lower Sioux community members, living within the 10-mile service area of the reservation, between the ages of 25 to 65 with diabetes and prediabetes who participate in Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) and nutrition education community events. The target group has been determined based on community needs within a group that have exhibited to present the largest challenge as it relates to acceptance of their diabetes diagnosis. Therefore, many in this population have shown to be non -compliant with their medication management as well as not making lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise centered on improving their overal
l health and avoiding diabetes related complications. The goals included in the project proposal include increasing the number and percent of those in the target group who receive nutrition education. A summary of the Lower Sioux SDPI project activities includes conducting individual MNT by the SDPI coordinator/Registered Dietitian to those in the target population. Further programming will include, a variety of nutrition learning activities, as well as collaboration with other community health programming such as, a series of cooking classes designed to bring in families to create a quick, healthy meal together to assist community members in the target population with diabetes or prediabetes in becoming more educated in healthy meal planning. Nutrition education will also be embedded into physical activity programming by the SDPI coordinator/RDN. Evaluation strategies will include a mixed method framework utilized to measure readiness for change and acceptability of intervention components amongst those in the target population. In summary, the intent of this project is to provide LSIC members in the target population optimal nutrition education and diabetes self-management tools to assist in positive overall diabetes related health outcomes.