The Talking Circle, a culturally appropriate, 12-week educational intervention, was employed on two Northern Plains American Indian reservations to provide information on type 2 diabetes. In a phenomenological study, funded as a minority supplement to the Talking Circle intervention, the authors asked 8 American Indian participants of the Talking Circle to describe their experience of being an American Indian Talking Circle participant. Seven common themes describe the phenomenon of participating in a Talking Circle diabetic intervention. The Talking Circle technique was effective in providing information on type 2 diabetes through culturally appropriate community sharing. Type 2 diabetes is viewed by both outsiders and those involved as a chronic disease of the utmost concern in American Indian communities.
Anderson, R. M. (2001). Qualitative research in diabetes: The role of stories in the culture of science. Diabetes Educator, 27(6), 798-808.
3.
Bullock, A. (2001). Connection of stress/trauma to diabetes and the insulin resistance syndrome. Unpublished manuscript.
4.
Burrows, N. R., Engelgau, M. M., Geiss, L. S, & Acton, K. J. (2000). Prevalence of diabetes among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 1990-1997. Diabetes Care, 23(12), 1786-1790.
5.
Census Bureau. (2002a). Pine Ridge Reservation and off-reservation trust land, SD-NE. Retrieved December 24, 2002, from http://factfinder.census.gov.
6.
Census Bureau. (2002b). Winnebago Reservation and off-reservation trust land, NE-IA. Retrieved December 24, 2002, from http://factfinder.census.gov.
7.
Center for American Indian Research and Education. (1998). Diabetes wellness: American Indian Talking Circles curriculum. Berkeley, CA: Author.
8.
Cesario, S. K. (2001). Care of the Native American woman: Strategies for practice, education, and research. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological, & Neonatal Nursing, 30(1), 13-19.
9.
Cohen, M. Z., Tripp-Reimer, T., Smith, C., Sorofman, B., & Lively, S. (1994). Explanatory models of diabetes: Patient practitioner variation. Social Science & Medicine, 38(1), 59-66.
10.
Colaizzi, P. F. (1978). Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In R. Valle & M. King (Eds.), Existential phenomenological alternatives for psychology (pp. 48-71). New York: Oxford University Press.
11.
Crazy Bull, C. (1997). A native conversation about research and scholarship. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 9(1), 17-23.
12.
Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Regional differences in Indian health. Rockville, MD: Author.
13.
Frank, A. W. (2000). The standpoint of storyteller. Qualitative Health Research, 10, 354-365.
14.
Garro, L. (1995). Individual or societal responsibility? Explanations of diabetes in an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) community. Social Science & Medicine, 40(1), 37-46.
15.
Gregory, D., Whalley, W., Olson, J., Bain, M., Harper, G. G., Roberts, L., et al. (1999). Exploring the experience of type II diabetes in urban aboriginal people. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 31(1), 101-115.
16.
Grams, G. D., Herbert, C., Heffernan, C., Calam, B., Wilson, M. A., Grzybowski, S., et al. (1996). Haida perspective on living with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 55(11), 1563-1568.
17.
Hernandez, C. A., Antone, I., & Cornelius, I. (1999). Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 10(3), 220-228.
18.
Hodge, F. S., Fredericks, L., & Rodriguez, B. (1996). American Indian women's talking circle: A cervical cancer screening and prevention project. Cancer, 78(Suppl. 7), 1592-1597.
19.
Hodge, F. S., Pasqua, A., Marquez, C. A., & Geishirt-Cantrell, B. (2002). Utilizing traditional storytelling to promote wellness in American Indian communities. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(1), 6-11.
20.
Hood, V. L., Kelly, B., Martinez, C., Shuman, S., & Secker-Walker, R. (1997). A Native American community initiative to prevent diabetes. Ethnicity and Health, 2(4), 277-285.
21.
Kagawa-Singer, M. (2002, January 10). The influence of ethnicity on health care decisions. Paper presented at the Cancer, Culture, and Literacy Institute, Tampa, FL.
22.
Lee, E. T., Oopik, A. J., Howard, B. V., Yeh, J., Savage, P. J., Go, O., et al. (1995). Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in three American Indian populations aged 45-74 years. Diabetes Care, 18(5), 599-610.
23.
Leininger, M., & McFarland, M. R. (2002). Transcultural nursing: Concepts, theories, research, & practice (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
24.
Lowe, J. (2002). Balance and harmony through connectedness: The intentionality of Native American nurses. Holistic Nursing Practice, 16(4), 4-11.
25.
Meade, C. (2002, January 9). Health literacy. Paper presented at the Cancer, Culture, and Literacy Institute, Tampa, FL.
26.
Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition. (2002a). Oglala Sioux Tribe community environmental profile. Retrieved June 1, 2003, from http://www.mnisose.org/profiles/oglala.htm
27.
Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition. (2003b) Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska community environmental profile. Retrieved June 1, 2003, from http://www.mnisose.org/profiles/winnebag.htm
28.
Munhall, P. (1989). Qualitative designs. In P. J. Brink & M. J. Wood (Eds.), Advanced design in nursing research (pp. 161-179). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
29.
Oiler, C. (1982). A phenomenological approach in nursing research. Nursing Research, 31, 178-181.
30.
Oiler, C. J. (1986). Qualitative methods: Phenomenology. In P. Moccia (Ed.), New approaches to theory development (pp. 75-103). New York: National League for Nursing.
31.
Parker, J. (1994). The lived experience of Native Americans with diabetes within a transcultural nursing perspective. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 6(1), 5-11.
32.
Rose, J. F. (1988). The voice of inner strength in women: A phenomenological study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas, Austin.
33.
Roubideaux, Y. D., Moore, K., Avery, C., Muneta, B., Knight, M., & Buchwald, D. (2000). Diabetes education material: Recommendations of tribal leaders, Indian health professionals, and American Indian community members. Diabetes Educator, 26(2), 290-294.
34.
Sandelowski, M. (1993). Rigor or rigor mortis: The problem of rigor in qualitative research revisited. Advances in Nursing Science, 16(2), 1-8.
35.
Stoddart, M. L., Blevins, K. S., Lee, E. T., Wang, W., & Blackett, P. R. (2002). Association of acanthosis nigricans with hyperinsulemia compared to other selected risk factors for type 2 diabetes in Cherokee Indians: The Cherokee Diabetes Study. Diabetes Care, 25(6), 1009-1014.
36.
Strickland, C. J., Chrisman, N. J., Yallup, M., & Squeoch, M. D. (1996). Walking the journey of womanhood: Yakima Indian women and Papanicolaou (Pap) test screening. Public Health Nursing, 13(2), 141-150.
37.
Struthers, R. (2002). Storytelling as a healing tool. In M. Snyder & R. Lindquist (Eds.), Complementary/alternative therapies in nursing (4th ed., pp. 124-134). New York: Springer.
38.
Stuart, C. (2000, November). Acanthosis nigricans in diabetes—Risk assessment of children. Paper presented at the War on Diabetes symposium, Omaha, NE.
39.
van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience. Albany: State University of New York Press.
