In 2004, a community-based diabetes prevention programme was established in Te Tairawhiti, a rural Māori community where around half of the Ngāti Porou community have a glucose metabolism disorder. The aim of the programme is ‘to reduce the prevalence of insulin resistance in the short term and therefore reduce type II diabetes and associated complications in the long term’ (Best Practice Advocacy Centre 2008).
The programme, called Ngāti and Healthy, has been evaluated by Tipene-Leach and colleagues (2013). Programme development followed discussion about diabetes concerns between the community and a local Māori nurse, in consultation with a locally-raised academic. The planned intervention consisted of: community-wide health promotion initiatives conveying healthy lifestyle messages; community education and monitoring for identified high-risk individuals and their extended families/whānau; and a structural strategy aimed at adapting local environments to support lifestyle changes.
The evaluators concluded that: ‘community-wide lifestyle interventions have the potential to reduce rates of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases in high-risk communities, but require a high level of commitment from the health sector and buy-in from the community. Adequate commitment, leadership, planning and resources are essential’.
