Churches spreading the diabetes message

Diabetes affects ethnic minorities in different ways, with African-Americans nearly 50 per cent more likely to suffer from the disease as non-Hispanic white Americans . To reach ethnic minorities, conventional methods are not always appropriate, and culturally sensitive approaches are often needed. A new initiative, partly set up by the ADA (American Diabetes Association) is working in conjunction with 30 Chicago churches .
Together they aim to spread awareness about diabetes prevention and management, using churches to carry the message . The aim, according to the ADA, is to ‘educate and empower.’ Churches are often the centre of African-American communities in American, and could be a good venue for this type of initiative. One of the problems in spreading awareness is the ability to reach large audiences, and using the church solves this.
The initiative, called Project Power, has raised attendance at the ADA fundraising walk. The workshops provided by the initiative, called ‘oh taste and see’, show traditional ways of preparing food for a healthy diet . Other workshops include ‘train up a child’ and ‘your body is a temple.’ The workshops appear to be having an overwhelmingly positive effect.