Approximately 125 people took part in the 2008 Pacific Health Care Conference this past Thursday and Friday.
Home health care and diabetes were the two main issues of the conference.
The CNMI's documented rate of diabetes is 30 percent, making it one of the highest rates in the world, but George Cruz, president and CEO of Marianas Health Services, Inc. and the CNMI Diabetes Coalition chairman, said the actual rate is probably higher if private sector health care organizations are included in the tally. He estimates the rate to be closer to 50 to 60 percent, which would be the highest rate in the world. Although numbers from the Public School System show a decrease that doesn't mean kids won't get adult-onset diabetes later on in life, Cruz said.
Keynote speaker Dr. Henry Ichiho, a consultant evaluator for the Pacific Diabetes Education program, gave a presentation that looked at diabetes from a Pacific perspective.
“A lot of us are using the U.S. approach, where hospitals deal with it,” Cruz said. “In the Pacific, we forget the cultural aspect. The U.S. model doesn't incorporate the religious aspect.”
It's important to remember the importance of culture, religious and traditional leaders play in the Pacific community when trying to prevent diabetes, Cruz said.
“We're finally realizing they work,” he added.
The conference was a collaborative effort between several organizations, including the Diabetes Coalition, Ayuda Network and the Commonwealth Cancer Association.
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