Grant: Team Grant: Diabetes Prevention and Treatment in Indigenous Communities: R&W

Rates of type 2 diabetes (T2D) among young Indigenous populations is growing at an inequitably higher rate than the general Canadian population, with some of the highest rates projected in Saskatchewan. A complex constellation of social, political, physical, and cultural factors underlie these inequitable rates of diabetes thus requiring the implementation of complex, innovative, and Indigenous-led solutions. Strategies for promoting health and preventing pediatric prediabetes and T2D must be centred in Indigenous culture and worldviews, and grounded in Indigenous models of resilience and wellness. Members of our team consist of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and community leaders including Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, youth, and individuals with diabetes-lived experience. We engaged in several Think Tank sessions to support the development of this grant ensuring First Nations and Métis (FN-M) knowledge have driven all aspects of this proposal. Building on this, we propose to co-create, implement, evaluate, and scale-up a health promotion mitos miyoyawin (tree of wellness) toolkit focused on prevention of pediatric T2D grounded in FN-M model(s) of resilience and wellness. Through this process we will reconceptualize FN-M perceptions of 'resilience' that will be essential to co-creating the mitos miyoyawin toolkit and associated effectiveness measures. Our intention is to uplift Indigenous worldview and perspectives through participatory action research methods to promote FN-M youth health and prevent T2D. The findings will be foundational to understanding effectiveness of health promotion interventions with diverse FN-M communities, decolonizing implementation health research, and contributing to Indigenous-driven approaches to reversing the upward trajectory of pediatric T2D diabetes among divers FN-M youth, families, and communities in SK and beyond.