KSDPP - Training and Research Update

Kahnawake Schools Diabetes
Prevention Project
Training & Research Update

Volume 1 Issue 2

November 2005


Inside this issue:

Update on KSDPP Training Program	p. 1
Personal Empowerment	p. 2
Knowledge Translation Corner	p. 3
Mohawks at Kahnawake	p. 4
Community Activities	p. 5
Ottawa: Another Community in Action	p. 6
Workshops offered by KSDPP	p. 7
Training Information	p. 8


*Contributors:* Margaret Cargo Cara Deer Rhonda Kirby Alex McComber Cynthia White Prepared by Cynthia White

Alex McComber, is Interim KSDPP Executive Director and Training Coordinator.

The Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project (KSDPP) began in 1994 as a community-based, participatory research project with the goal of preventing or delaying the onset of type 2-diabetes among Mohawk children of Kahnawake. This would be accomplished by the promotion of healthy lifestyle activities, particularly eating habits and physical activity.
The KSDPP Training Program in Diabetes Prevention held it’s pilot session in April 2002 in Kahnawake with eleven participants. Since then, five sessions have been held with thirty-eight participants from across Canada and the state of Alaska. These include First Nations communities, urban Aboriginal communities, friendship centers, and local organizations working with Aboriginal health programs.
The Training Program has also had the opportunity to be given outside of Kahnawake.

The Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative funded project at the Ontario Native Women’s Association in Thunder Bay sponsored a training session in the Fall of 2004. The Aboriginal Diabetes Wellness Program and Health Canada Alberta sponsored a training session in Edmonton in January 2005 and Portage College at Lac la Biche, Alberta sponsored a training session for Alberta community health representatives in May 2005. There were approximately fifty people who attended these sessions.
Moose Cree First Nation located at Moose Factory, Ontario sponsored a KSDPP training program session that involved twelve people from that island community near James Bay in June 2004. The result of that training has been the creation of a diabetes prevention strategy for Moose Cree First Nation that is being implemented over a three-year period. Akwesasne Mohawk Territory contracted the services of KSDPP to help develop a large-scale diabetes strategy for the sections of Akwesasne Territory that lie in Quebec and Ontario provinces. This was accomplished over several months in the winter and spring of 2005.

The information provided through the KSDPP Training Program includes information topics on diabetes epidemiology, nutrition, physical activity and holistic wellness. Elements of strategic planning are incorporated into the training in support of creating a community vision of wellness, which is a key part of setting up a diabetes prevention program; after-all, a community needs to know where it is heading. Participants are also taught how to develop a community coalition of local organizations and individuals who will take the lead in developing a diabetes prevention plan of action. This includes discussion on the important components of teamwork, how to involve volunteers and the importance of appreciating the involvement of others through incentives.

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