Science and Culture Come Together to Tackle Diabetes Epidemic
K-12 Curriculum Blends Native Culture, Western Science to Encourage Youth to Live Healthy Lifestyles
To address a growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes, researchers developed a program to empower American Indian children with knowledge to prevent or delay the disorder. The K-12 curriculum, called "Health is Life in Balance," blends the science of diabetes with cultural teachings.
Tribal culture and knowledge encompasses a way of living, said Carolee Dodge Francis, director of UNLV's American Indian Research and Education Center. A cookie-cutter approach doesn't work. History, language, politics, and environment need to be integrated into community health and science education. "To make diabetes education reflective of Native youth, programs need to embody the depth of cultural contributions among our people and the relationship to scientific discovery," she said.
Understanding Diabetes and Research
The curriculum weaves together inquiry-based learning, exposure to science and health-related professions, and American Indian/Alaska Native culture and community knowledge. It aligns with national science standards, health, and social studies education standards, and is a supplement to lessons currently being taught.
The program has already been effective. More than 1,500 students from tribal schools and public schools in 14 states tested the curriculum in 2007, showing increased understanding among elementary, middle, and high school levels. The curriculum is now being introduced nationwide to tribal schools and schools with a high concentration of American Indian students.
Collaborative Effort
The curriculum is a result of the Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools (DETS) program. To develop the program, UNLV researchers collaborated with:
- National Institutes of Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Indian Health Service
- eight tribal colleges and universities
About the Researchers
Dodge Francis served as the lead on the DETS evaluation committee and was a member of the team that wrote the high school science and health units. She trains teachers in implementing curriculum in Nevada and surrounding states.
Michelle Chino, professor in the School of Public Health, was part of the curriculum evaluation team and led the ethnographic data collection team used to assess the program's cultural appropriateness.
"Health is Balance in Life" was unveiled Nov. 12 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Related Information
Carolee Dodge Francis
Michelle Chino
American Indian Research and Education Center
School of Public Health
Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools
