Strong Men, Strong Communities: Cultural Tradition to Improve Native Men's Health

American Indian (AI) males experience profound health disparities compared to their counterparts in all other U.S. racial and ethnic groups. AI men have the highest age-adjusted prevalence of type 2 diabetes (~18%) among U.S. men, while non-Hispanic White men have the lowest (~7%). In recent decades, AIs have seen a disproportionate increase in diabetes-related complications and mortality compared to all other groups, such that age-adjusted diabetes death rates in AI men are now almost twice those in White men.

Several large randomized, con trolled trials in non-AIs confirm that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by interventions that promote healthy lifestyles, but little empirical data exist on interventions to prevent diabetes in AI men. In the clinic-based U.S. Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), only 55 out of 3,234 participants were AI men. Similarly, in the diabetes prevention programs in Native communities, participation by AI males is low, ranging from 33% to 74%. Many explanations have been posited for the low participation rates among men of all races in lifestyle interventions. Recruiting AI men in clinic-based programs is difficult because they tend to seek clinical care less often than women. AI men's perceptions of normative health behaviors and gender roles may also discourage participation, particularly in mixed-gender groups. Therefore, an urgent need exists for diabetes risk reduction programs tailored to the unique values and habits of AI men, with a particular focus on recruitment and retention