Diabetes Project

1. Diabetes Project Polynesian Voices June 6, 2000 Salt Lake City, Utah

3. Polynesian Group #1 Tongan 7 women, 1 man Young adult Held at Sorenson Multicultural Center

4. Polynesian Group #2 Samoan and Tongan 6 women, 1 man Middle-aged Held at Sorenson Multicultural Center

5. Polynesian Group #3 Tongan 8 men, 3 women Older adults Conducted in Tongan Held at Sorenson Multicultural Center

6. Polynesian Group #4 Tongan and Samoan 7 women, 8 men Young adult to middle-age Held at Sorenson Multicultural Center

7. Polynesian Group #5 Samoan 8 women, 7 men Young adults to older Held at private home in Taylorsville

8. Polynesian Group #6 Samoan 10 women, 7 men Middle-aged Married couples Held at church grounds in Provo

9. Polynesian Group #7 Tongan and Samoan 3 women, 8 men Young adult to middle-aged Held at private home in Rose Park

10. Synthesis Topics Experiences Messages & Delivery Suggestions

11. Importance of Diabetes? My father is diabetic and I know a lot of our people in our community are . . . and they are very concerned. I know that my family has it, but I don�t really think about getting checked. Most of us live in a very relaxed lifestyle and don�t think about tomorrow.

12. Current Knowledge? They know it has something to do with what they eat. We say �I got it from my mothers side,� then we think there is nothing we can do about it. Polynesians don�t know where to go for help, or what�s available to them.

13. Current Behaviors? It is easy to keep putting off changing your lifestyle. A lot of our people think they can take their pills and keep eating the same way. Adults don�t go to doctors unless they are sick.

14. Challenges Tongan�s don�t want to know what is wrong because if you live a good life then it is okay for you to die. Having to comply to a diet is against what we think life really is. Many won�t go to the doctor because they don�t have insurance. Language barriers, it is hard to explain how you feel.

15. Opportunities Tongans really like to talk. We have our own channel, it�s called the �coconut wireless�. What hits home is family. Show what can happen to the family. The Polynesian race is very religious and anything that comes from the leaders of the church, they have the tendency to listen. Older Tongan people love to read in their language.

16. Diabetes Project Message Development

17. Delivery Channels Mass Media Community-Based Grassroots

18. Television We just turn on TV for background noise. I saw on TV the thing about diabetes symptoms and it got me to get tested. People prefer a warm face in front of them, not commercials.

19. Radio Radio is boring to me. We use it as background noise. Our Grandparents would tell us to turn it off before they�d listen to the radio. We get one hour a month where a station plays Tongan music and is in Tongan. We look forward to it.

20. Newspapers/Magazines Everybody is nosy. They�d go buy a paper to see a picture or read about someone they know. When you print things, you need to have someone from the community advise how to get our attention and say things the best way.

21. Billboards/Busboards What the older generation sees on TV and billboards in English is not going to mean anything to them. Try to paint a picture of diabetes, you can�t do it. Our billboard is our leaders in the church. We don�t need a piece of paper to get our attention.

22. Posters When posters are on a wall, it is just another poster. I�d turn it over and draw on it. Posters don�t get my attention. Maybe if I saw my parents or someone I knew, I�d notice it. When we see the word �Utahan's� in posters, we think whites, not Polynesians. It would be nice to see Tongan statistics.

23. Pamphlets It would become firewood. Needs to be in our language with pictures of our people. Literature is fine but you don�t have anyone to answer the questions you raise from reading the pamphlets.

24. Audiences I think it is a family thing, they all need to be aware. I cannot imagine being without the elders. They need to know about it. Target younger people that can influence the older people.

25. Messengers If Polynesians don�t respect the person delivering the message, it won�t work. The information needs to come from my generation [30-40] because we can reach the community as a whole. Show someone that people look up to. Someone local we could know.

26. Messages I know that Pacific Islanders would rather see somebody�s hand chopped off, then they would know the seriousness of the message. When you show you really care we are more responsive. Get the message across that there are ways to get help even without insurance.

27. Setting I need to see faces, all I see from this commercial is their backsides walking. You could have a Polynesian festival going on in the background. Have a family picnic with food, singing and dancing.

28. Tone It depends on who you are talking to: For the older, scary is not the thing, use hope and encouragement. For the younger, scary is good.

29. Health Care Settings Not a lot of people go to doctors, and even with doctors of our own cultural background, there�s a reluctancy there. I�d rather believe my cousins than my doctor. Caucasians do not understand us. They just want us in and out. We like to stay and talk.

30. Worksites If you could take people out of work for an hour and teach them, then they�d know this was really something important. Don�t just talk about prevention but bring the testing to us.

31. Videotapes I would just record over it unless it was someone I knew. Show actual Polynesians. It needs to be in Tongan and Samoan with English at the bottom. Make it like the �Polynesians in Utah� video and interview people with diabetes. We�d call up everybody to make sure they saw it.

32. Large Gatherings Churches are a community�s meeting ground. We trust them to give us information. It is important to talk to the whole congregation. You�ll get every age group. The first time you do an event, it needs to be good because if it is bad, word of mouth will keep people from coming.

33. Personal Contact We don�t get information from reading, we get it from other people. I�d rather call up our friends to get information. For our older people, health issues are private, personal issues, not for an open forum.

34. Diabetes Project Suggestions for Action

35. Suggestions "We need more grassroots people because they are the ones who are out there socializing with the community, and can spread the word and know the issues and concerns.�

36. Suggestions " Hire Latinos and Pacific Islanders�: It's a matter of respect, it's a matter of appropriateness and it's a matter of competency."

37. Suggestions � I think we need to focus not so much on the media relations. I think the focus really needs to be absolutely on program orientation and outreach.�

38. Suggestions �Identify and train counselors so they can treat and change their lifestyle, because it takes a long time for it to sink in and make meaningful changes."

39. Suggestions �We need something like Weight Watchers for the kinds of foods that Pacific Islanders eat. You can educate the people so they know that �when I eat this piece of taro, its going to drive my blood sugar up�.�

40. Suggestions �My mom, it�s like pushing a goat. She will not go and exercise even though her doctor tells her to. We need a van that goes around picking up people to exercise. The social aspect of that would be a big pull for Pacific Islanders.�

41. Diabetes Project Next Step: Complete written report and request that it be disseminated in the community as well as to health care and public health workers. Thank You!