Formative assessment using social marketing principles to identify health and nutrition perspectives of Native American women living within the Chickasaw Nation boundaries in Oklahoma.

OBJECTIVE: To identify health product and promotion channels for development of a Chickasaw Nation Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Education Program (SNAP-Ed) social marketing program. METHODS: The study was qualitative and used social marketing principles to assess Native American women's views of health and nutrition. Focus groups (n = 8) and interviews (n = 4) were conducted to identify indigenous views of product, promotion, price, and place related to SNAP-Ed behavioral objectives. RESULTS: The major theme identified for product was diabetes prevention. Participants (n = 42) indicated a preference for family-based education with promotion by elders, tribal leaders, and "everyday people." Participants identified tribe-specific community sites for program implementation at times conducive to work schedules. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Culturally appropriate social marketing programs are necessary to address diabetes prevention with a focus on family, heritage, and tribal community. Additional research is necessary to explore the role of elders and tribal leaders in diabetes prevention efforts.

Most commonly consumed foods and food perceptions in Native American women.

OBJECTIVE: To identify commonly consumed foods and the relationship of health perception on food intakes. METHODS: One hundred seventy-five Native American women completed a 1-d or 4-d food records. Perceptions of health value were obtained by the food sort method. Frequency analyses identified commonly consumed foods. Relations between intakes and perception of health value were evaluated by Spearman's correlations. RESULTS: Coffee and tea, soda (diet and regular), white bread, and table fats were the most commonly consumed foods in both samples. Health value had little impact on consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the foods consumption and the role of perception on intakes allows for targeted nutrition education programming.

Social and cultural barriers to diabetes prevention in Oklahoma American Indian women.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of diabetes is disproportionately higher among minority populations, especially American Indians. Prevention or delay of diabetes in this population would improve quality of life and reduce health care costs. Identifying cultural definitions of health and diabetes is critically important to developing effective diabetes prevention programs. METHODS: In-home qualitative interviews were conducted with 79 American Indian women from 3 tribal clinics in northeast Oklahoma to identify a cultural definition of health and diabetes. Grounded theory was used to analyze verbatim transcripts. RESULTS: The women interviewed defined health in terms of physical functionality and absence of disease, with family members and friends serving as treatment promoters. Conversely, the women considered their overall health to be a personal issue addressed individually without burdening others. The women presented a fatalistic view of diabetes, regarding the disease as an inevitable event that destroys health and ultimately results in death. CONCLUSION: Further understanding of the perceptions of health in at-risk populations will aid in developing diabetes prevention programs.