BC First Nations Health Authority

The Vancouver Island Region of the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is developing a Regional Diabetes Strategy in collaboration with the three Vancouver Island Cultural Families with an integrated, coordinated, and culturally grounded approach.

The Regional Strategy team supporting this work includes:

• Matilda Atleo, Indigenous Educator, Diabetes, Vancouver Island Region FNHA

• Rebecca Sovdi, Consultant, IDEA Diabetes

• Barbara MacDonald, Consultant, IDEA Diabetes

  Over the next two years, the Regional Strategy team will engage and work with Vancouver Island communities, including senior leadership, people with lived experience, health staff and key community stakeholders.

  Goal: to collaborate with partners and community to create a wholistic, action-oriented, and sustainable plan based on the community’s vision and values that positively impact diabetes outcomes.

  The plan will honour and reflect each community’s social, emotional, mental, and cultural well- being, encompassed in a region-wide plan. The process includes creating an inventory of current, planned, and future resources required to achieve each of the plan's strategic directions in ways that are meaningfully determined and led by the communities.

Next steps:

The process begins by engaging with representatives from the island communities, away-from- home membership and partner groups, such as Island Health and friendship centres. Together we will identify and work together to form a vision based on strengths and describe the best possible future that will significantly impact health outcomes. We will look at what works well and build upon it to create this vision and ideal future.

From there, we will set goals, objectives, and actions for culturally-grounded prevention, care, and management of diabetes. Through this strategy, we aim to improve health outcomes and quality of life for First Nations across Vancouver Island no