Project Overview

Indigenous methodologies: building capacity for telediabetes care in Urban Indigenous communities. (I’M T’CARE)

Among First Nations in Canada, diabetes prevalence peaks at age 55-64. These rates are almost four-fold higher than the general population (36.4% versus 9.9%) ¹. Representing more than half of Indigenous peoples in Canada, urban (off-reserve) Indigenous people face disproportionately poorer diabetes-related outcomes secondary to access barriers, racism, structural violence, lack of culturally safe care ^2-4. Geographic/jurisdictional challenges ⁵ also limit diabetes services such as telediabetes.

Telehealth is welcomed and cost-effective in those > 40 years old ⁶ but outcomes for Indigenous older adults (Elders) ^7-9 are lacking due to minimal access to collaboratively developed culturally safe telediabetes programs; thus highlighting the community-driven needs ¹⁰. 

Our CIHR grant, “Building Indigenous Pathways for Diabetes and Obesity Prevention and Management with Urban and Rural Communities in British Columbia” (IDOH2), partners with six urban Friendship (FC) and Métis Centers (MC) (off-reserve) in the BC Interior. These communities identified the need for e-health/telediabetes and electronic medical record (EMR) access.

Purpose: This 3-year project will examine, in partnership with IDOH2 Friendship/Metis partners and Advisory Teams, how multidisciplinary telediabetes “one-stop” care impacts access and health outcomes for urban Indigenous older adults and caregivers. 

Outcomes: Indigenous physicians and local providers are trained as diabetes “experts”, culturally safe multidisciplinary telediabetes clinics are embedded within FC/MC programming; Indigenous older adults, and caregiver/families access and benefit from services; an Indigenous telediabetes “expert” training and implementation toolkit is disseminated across Canada and beyond.