During the summit’s second day, Villagomez said the islands have come together to “lay a strong foundation” for diabetes programs that can be emulated and tailored to their respective jurisdictions.
The summit participants are health advocates from Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Palau and the CNMI.
Villagomez said after identifying “best practices,” the Pacific islands may then address the funding issue to sustain their programs.
In the CNMI, he said the Commonwealth Health Center’s Diabetes Prevention Program offers various activities to the people.
“We have the Walk on Wednesday event, the foot clinic and aqua aerobics that attract many community members,” Villagomez said.
Dr. Stevenson Kuartei, Palau’s public health director, said it is important to define the priorities and strengths of each Pacific jurisdiction “because we sometimes do not clearly identify our priorities and we negotiate without really clear understanding of what we need to ask for.”
Kuartei said the summit plays a vital role in looking at the “local situation” so that priorities can be defined.
“Health services should restore the community’s health,” he said.
In Palau, Kuartei said, they monitor the indicators of diabetes such as the individual’s lifestyle to prevent and control the disease.
“We find out how many people are smoking, chewing betel nut, chewing tobacco, and using alcohol. And how many are actively participating in physical activities and are eating vegetables,” he said.
During the morning session yesterday, Kuartei and Viliami Puloka of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community discussed “research, risk, response and redirection of efforts in the trans-disciplinary approaches to diabetes prevention and control.”
The discussion on how those approaches are translated into practices was led by Nia Aitaoto from the Pacific Diabetes Education Program; Dr. Neal Palafox of John A. Burns Schools of Medicine¸ University of Hawaii; and Dr. Kelly Acton of the U.S. Indian Health Service.
The panel discussion on community-based participatory research principles and lessons learned was facilitated by Dr. Francisco S. Sy of the U.S. National Institutes of Health; Dr. Moon S. Chen of the University of California, Davis; Dr. Amy J. Schultz of the University of Michigan; and Dr. Joseph Keawe’aimoku Kaholokula of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
