This study is an exploratory qualitative analysis of Aboriginal and biomedical perceptions of non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM) on Manitoulin Island. In-depth interviews were used to explore perceptions of the symptoms, causes, cures and consequences of diabetes amongst both health care providers and community members. An equal sample of individuals both with and without diabetes were interviewed. This study attempts to highlight divergent perceptions of NIDDM on the part of community members and health care providers. It argues that these perceptions are linked to divergent conceptions of health. Specifically, community members describe health in terms of cultural identity and social resilience. In contrast, health care providers focus on the physical dimensions of health and emphasize individual responsibility in maintaining health. As such, both biomedical and community narratives are engaged in the process of defining 'normality' within these divergent frameworks. Implications of these perceptions were explored in relation to diabetes management and treatment; causal factors; and emergent definitions for the 'body'. Attitudes towards diabetes 'management' differed between health care providers and community members. Health care providers related 'poor' management to a lack of compliance with lifestyle recommendations whereas community members describe barriers to management despite an articulated desire to do so. Within a biomedical framework, the diabetic 'self has a duty to act responsibly and manage their diabetes. The measurement of the blood sugar level is a marker of responsible actions. Nonetheless, community narratives emphasize the social and emotional consequences associated with managing diabetes thus highlighting how certain selves are better able to 'manage' diabetes than others. Divergent causal stories were outlined by health care providers and community members. Biomedical narratives emphasize the importance of individual lifestyle factors, particularly the impact of obesity, in causation. In contrast, community narratives emphasize the role of genetics in causation. Community narratives describe diabetes as collectively affecting Aboriginal people -further identifying those affected as different. Within this framework, the biomedical focus on modifying individual lifestyle practices is questioned and the pursuit of health becomes contingent on returning to an initial state of purity and health through traditional knowledge. Definitions for a 'healthy body' were also redefined within community narratives. It was argued that the emergent definitions can be considered a form of resistance-to both the universal body of biomedical discourse and the universal 'Native body'. Specifically, this resistance was expressed in definitions for causal factors describing an essentialized 'Native body' that is genetically and psychologically distinct. Nonetheless, a minority of community members also expressed resistance to the concept of a 'Native body' that is genetically distinct. Additional resistance was evident in narratives describing the relationship between health and body size. Within these narratives community members describe a healthy body that is larger thus questioning the biomedical emphasis on the relationship between thinness and health. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/24541 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Sunday, Julie |
| Contributors | Eyles, John, Geography |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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