FrisbeeUsed under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ by Andy T

Cultural context

Nursing students have been working on a locally appropriate resource to help address Type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a significant health issue in New Zealand. The DESMOND (Diabetes Education and Self Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed) programme, developed in the United Kingdom, is currently being used by WellSouth in Otago and Southland under sub-license from Diabetes WA in Australia. The programme is educational, providing information for people with Type 2 diabetes and helping them to successfully self-manage their condition.

Type 2 diabetes disproportionately affects Maori New Zealanders, so a team of Bachelor of Nursing students decided that something more locally and culturally appropriate was needed. The DESMOND programme is a valuable existing resource, so the students set about adapting it in collaboration with WellSouth. Diabetes WA has been supportive. The students have worked through three of the nine steps to adapt DESMOND for a New Zealand context and intend to continue to work together to develop, run and evaluate a pilot, that would enable WellSouth to then apply for approval to deliver the modified programme.

The students also conceived of a frisbee health promotion resource. The frisbee promotes physical activity, and can be printed with information about healthy eating, both of which help contribute to the successful management of Type 2 diabetes.