Wednesday, September 3, 2008

D-Day: Iva’s Diabetes Clinic

08/28/08

Today representatives from the Diabetes Association of Samoa in Apia, nurses from the hospital on Savaii, a physician from Long Beach, CA with his 8-year-old son, a representative from the Los Angles based Samoan National Nurses Association, and four Peace Corps volunteers teamed with village officials to test almost 200 villagers for diabetes and high blood pressure. It started four hours late due to ferry problems for the Apia people. The clinic had the feel of clinic and three ring circus with testing, education, consoling, and jazzercise all happening at the same time in the same place. It was all worth it as many villagers learned about diabetes for the first time and those with “sick blood” referred to the hospital for medical attention.

Diabetes is rampant in Samoa. The results from the clinic show 33% of the people with high blood sugar levels (above 140 mg), even in 22% of children under thirteen. The high percentage of people affected warrants the expansion of the testing to everyone in the village, then do the next to impossible, try to change peoples habits to lessen this lifestyle disease. I have no idea where this project may lead.
Registration Line

Nurses Testing Station

American Physician, Assistant, and Interpreter Interview Serious Diabetics

Samoan Lunch, Lite

Women's Committee Saying Hello to Mary

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Get rid of those bread and butter, etc...and diabetes will be gone. Trust me in the before the 60's or maybe even the 70's there was no diabete in Samoa. It's all the crap they import from the outside.