In Mexico, diabetes constitutes a major health problem and it is one of the main causes of death. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the global average of adults (20-79) with diabetes in 2012 was 6.9%, while this figure was 15% in Mexico. To make matters worse, the country has one of the highest obesity rates in the world, as well as high poverty rates. Considering the magnitude of the issue, it is urgent that an efficient strategy is carried out to reduce the burden of diabetes in Mexico.The National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has taken preventive measures to halt the burden of obesity, diabetes and hypertension (ODH), by implementing a project in 2010 involving different stakeholders including people from the community and institutions from Xoxocotla. Xoxocotla is an indigenous community with one of the highest obesity rates in the country. The strategy plan, named Miche/PES, was designed to prevent and treat ODH, taking into consideration the context, history and identity of the Xoxocotla’s inhabitants.This project aims to promote healthy lifestyles and sensitize the population about social issues related to diabetes.
In order to ensure sustainability of the Michme/P.E.S. health plan, personnel capacity needs to be strengthened and sensitization campaigns and activities need to be organised.The efficacy of this project will be ensured by incorporating local resources, and mainly by understanding the specific problems of indigenous peoples concerning health with a multidimensional and holistic approach. In addition, it is expected that the WDF supported project, WDF13-788, will benefit from this particular project and vice versa.The quality of life of the population will be improved through participation in workshops and cultural activities that promote knowledge about shared risk factors, prevention of diabetes and the importance of early diagnosis. The topics of the workshops will be addressing, among others, self-esteem, gender equity, family solidarity, indigenous alimentation and consequences of diabetes and its complications.Heath care professionals will receive training to facilitate workshops where people will experience the challenges of living with diabetes. This will sensitize the community to further understand the importance of supporting people living with diabetes, as well as the importance of making individual and collective changes for living a healthy lifestyle.In the workshop, participants will learn healthy indigenous food recipes. This particular workshop will be combined with a gardening workshop to teach people how to grow their own vegetables, fruits, spices and medicinal plants.Another activity will be the design of culturally relevant conversation maps and group discussion guides. The conversation maps will help to guide the discussion towards diabetes focusing on its myths and facts, characteristics of treatment and decision making for the individual/collective action. A video will be developed to communicate the consequences of diabetes and its complications, emphasize the importance of self-care for prevention and encourage support. Likewise, massive media events and a health and culture festival will be organized including recreational and sports activities. This festival will be the first in Xoxocotla with such format.Parallel to the development of activities, data from the implementation and evaluation of the workshops and events will be collected. The data will later be analysed and procedures standardized to guide other communities that want to implement similar activities. The systematization will be contextualized to ensure its cultural relevance. The Community Working Group (CWG) and the NIPH team will advocate for the perpetuation of these activities by having several meetings with health authorities and other institutions.
- 120 people participated in 12 discussion group workshops - 12 volunteers trained to set up discussion groups.- 12 sets of the Michme conversation maps printed and distributed.- 40-45 school or household gardens created.- Gardening project follow up report.- Global report on the health and culture festival elaborated.