Advocate
We meet with Ruana Taito, fresh from the success of running our inaugural diabetes self-management education programme in Sāmoan.
MA'I SUKA R
uana Taito is the Diabetes Community Coordinator for Porirua, in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. One of her many tasks is to run the sixweek Diabetes: Your Life, Your Journey programme (also known as Diabetes Self-Management Education programmes – or DSME). This course, designed for people with type 2 diabetes, is where attendees get to learn everything there is to know about ma'i suka (diabetes), ask all their questions, and connect with diabetes nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists.
The programme has always been delivered in English here. Until now that is, and Ruana is thrilled with how well it went. ‘Honestly, from all the self-management programmes that I’ve run, this is my best. Because it’s actually delivered in my language.’ Ruana says she understands that the health system is hard to navigate at the best of times and that getting a diagnosis can often be overwhelming. She says that clinical language can be too complicated to fully understand, so she is committed to making all information accessible.
SOWING THE SEED
It was an invitation to an event in a local church last December that sowed the seed. Ruana found herself talking to church leaders about the work she does within Diabetes NZ. ‘Because we are Pasifika and Māori, we are a highrisk population’, she explains. She then broached an idea with the organiser of the event. ‘I asked if I could potentially come and have contact with the pastor of the church about the DSME because ideally we want to bring it to churches as that is where our Pasifika community
Ruana (centre) facilitating a Diabetes Self-Management Programme at a church in Porirua with help from diabetes clinicians.
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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2024
