Szmedra, Philip and Chand, Anand and Prasad, Mohit and DeDitta, Thomas and Rozmus, Cathy (2018) Using community theater to improve diabetes education in Fiji. International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries, 38 (4). pp. 502-508. ISSN 0973-3930
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Diabetes afflicts upwards of 425 million people globally with 80% of that number living in the developing world. The World Health Organization has declared diabetes a global health threat. Here, we describe a Community Theater (CT) project implemented in Fiji, a nation where 30% of the adult population is diabetic. Current diabetes education methods used by the Ministry of Health in Fiji have proven to be ineffective in stemming the growing incidence of the disease. Our research hypothesis was that significant improvements would occur from baseline in the physical and psychosocial markers among a group of outpatients being treated at a diabetic clinic who were exposed to CT interventions over a 23-month period. Significant improvement in HbA1c levels occurred in the intervention group compared to a control group that was not exposed to CT. We conclude that novel educational approaches are needed, including CT, to combat the growing epidemic of diabetes that threatens Fiji and all other Pacific Island nations.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) > School of Management and Public Administration |
| Depositing User: | Anand Chand |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Mar 2019 00:23 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Mar 2019 00:23 |
| URI: | http://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/11376 |
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