IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v22y2024i1p25-d1555347.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Supporting Holistic Health and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Risk Reduction Among Young Native Females Prior to Pregnancy: A Qualitative Exploration

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah A. Stotz

    (Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA)

  • Luciana E. Hebert

    (The Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, Washington State University, Seattle, WA 99163, USA)

  • Lisa Scarton

    (Department of Family, Consumer and Health Sciences, College of Nursing, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Kelli Begay

    (Independent Researcher, Oklahoma City, OK 73012, USA)

  • Kelly Gonzales

    (School of Public Health, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201, USA)

  • Heather Garrow

    (Saint Regis Mohawk Diabetes Center for Excellence, Akwesasne, NY 13655, USA)

  • Melanie Charley

    (Independent Researcher, Portland, OR 97035, USA)

  • Melanie Aspaas

    (Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

  • Denise Charron-Prochownik

    (Department of Health Promotion and Development, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA)

  • Spero M. Manson

    (Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

Abstract

AI/AN communities are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Decreasing the risk of GDM can interrupt the intergenerational cycle of diabetes in AI/AN families, and can decrease diabetes-related health disparities. The goal of this study was to explore ways of supporting holistic health and reducing the risk of GDM among young American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) females prior to pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult AI/AN women (>18 years) who had GDM or who have young female relatives (e.g., daughters) (n = 41), AI/AN females between 12 and 24 years (n = 18), and key experts in food/nutrition and health within AI/AN communities (n = 32). Three themes emerged: (1) guidance on how to support young females’ holistic wellness; (2) evidence that generations of colonial violence, including forced removal, forced poverty, and the imposition of a Western-based food system, causes deeper, systemic fracturing of traditional cultural food knowledge and practices; and the fact that (3) opportunities for improved adolescent female health are rooted in AI/AN values and how AI/AN people resist the impacts of anti-Indigenous racism through family-based, community-led, and holistic health. These themes suggest alternative understandings about the relationships between food insecurity and holistic pre-pregnancy health and can guide our next steps in decreasing health disparities in these communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah A. Stotz & Luciana E. Hebert & Lisa Scarton & Kelli Begay & Kelly Gonzales & Heather Garrow & Melanie Charley & Melanie Aspaas & Denise Charron-Prochownik & Spero M. Manson, 2024. "Supporting Holistic Health and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Risk Reduction Among Young Native Females Prior to Pregnancy: A Qualitative Exploration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(1), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2024:i:1:p:25-:d:1555347
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/1/25/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/1/25/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yin Paradies & Jehonathan Ben & Nida Denson & Amanuel Elias & Naomi Priest & Alex Pieterse & Arpana Gupta & Margaret Kelaher & Gilbert Gee, 2015. "Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-48, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuqi Wang & Laurent Reyes & Emily A. Greenfield & Sarah R. Allred, 2022. "Municipal Ethnic Composition and Disparities in COVID-19 Infections in New Jersey: A Blinder–Oaxaca Decomposition Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-25, October.
    2. Malat, Jennifer & Mayorga-Gallo, Sarah & Williams, David R., 2018. "The effects of whiteness on the health of whites in the USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 148-156.
    3. Hamed, Sarah & Bradby, Hannah & Thapar-Björkert, Suruchi & Ahlberg, Beth Maina, 2024. "Healthcare staff's racialized talk: The perpetuation of racism in healthcare," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).
    4. Caryn N. Bell & Jordan Kerr & Jessica L. Young, 2019. "Associations between Obesity, Obesogenic Environments, and Structural Racism Vary by County-Level Racial Composition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Ricci B Harris & James Stanley & Donna M Cormack, 2018. "Racism and health in New Zealand: Prevalence over time and associations between recent experience of racism and health and wellbeing measures using national survey data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-22, May.
    6. Nazan Ulusoy & Anja Schablon, 2020. "Discrimination in In-Patient Geriatric Care: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Employees with a Turkish Migration Background," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-14, March.
    7. Lubna Rashid & Silvia Cepeda-García, 2021. "Self-Categorising and Othering in Migrant Integration: The Case of Entrepreneurs in Berlin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Uršula Lipovec Čebron, 2021. "Language as a Trigger for Racism: Language Barriers at Healthcare Institutions in Slovenia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, March.
    9. D'Costa, Ieta & Truong, Mandy & Russell, Lynette & Adams, Karen, 2023. "Employee perceptions of race and racism in an Australian hospital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    10. Bastos, João L. & Harnois, Catherine E. & Paradies, Yin C., 2018. "Health care barriers, racism, and intersectionality in Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 209-218.
    11. Jill Furzer & Boriana Miloucheva, 2020. "The Long Arm of the Clean Air Act: Pollution Abatement and COVID-19 Racial Disparities," Working Papers tecipa-668, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    12. Chen, Shanting & Mallory, Allen B., 2021. "The effect of racial discrimination on mental and physical health: A propensity score weighting approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    13. Rachel Hennein & Jessica Bonumwezi & Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako & Petty Tineo & Sarah R. Lowe, 2021. "Racial and Gender Discrimination Predict Mental Health Outcomes among Healthcare Workers Beyond Pandemic-Related Stressors: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-14, September.
    14. Ana Isabel Maldonado & Carol B. Cunradi & Anna María Nápoles, 2020. "Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration in Latino Men: The Mediating Effects of Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-17, November.
    15. Susan B. Sisson & Adrien Malek-Lasater & Timothy G. Ford & Diane Horm & Kyong-Ah Kwon, 2023. "Predictors of Overweight and Obesity in Early Care and Education Teachers during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, February.
    16. World Bank, 2024. "Examining Racism and Discrimination in the Middle East and North Africa Region," World Bank Publications - Reports 42028, The World Bank Group.
    17. Katrina D Hopkins & Carrington C J Shepherd & Catherine L Taylor & Stephen R Zubrick, 2015. "Relationships between Psychosocial Resilience and Physical Health Status of Western Australian Urban Aboriginal Youth," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.
    18. Gilbert, Paul A. & Zemore, Sarah E., 2016. "Discrimination and drinking: A systematic review of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 178-194.
    19. Priest, Naomi & Doery, Kate & Lim, Chiao Kee & Lawrence, Jourdyn A. & Zoumboulis, Georgia & King, Gabriella & Lamisa, Dewan & He, Fan & Wijesuriya, Rushani & Mateo, Camila M. & Chong, Shiau & Truong, , 2024. "Racism and health and wellbeing among children and youth–An updated systematic review and meta-analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).
    20. Bernard Baffour & Sumonkanti Das & Mu Li & Alice Richardson, 2024. "The Utility of Socioeconomic and Remoteness Indicators in Understanding the Geographical Variation in the Regional Prevalence of Early Childhood Vulnerability in Australia," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(4), pages 1791-1827, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2024:i:1:p:25-:d:1555347. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.