Exploring effective strategies to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and children to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes in remote Australia.

The work of the Diabetes Across the Lifecourse Northern Australian Partnership has highlighted the growing epidemic of obesity and type
2 diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth and children in Central and northern Australia. While type 2 diabetes is
preventable, early intervention and family-based prevention programs have had limited success among Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people. Management strategies have also largely been designed for the adult population and are therefore not necessarily
relevant nor appropriate for children and youth. Action to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes in northern Australia needs to be
community-led while also considering the social determinants of health and local contexts. Evaluation approaches need to be culturally
safe, rigorous and adaptable to meet the needs and priorities of local communities. Given this, the proposed work of my PhD aims to
explore the development of support strategies for youth-onset diabetes across northern Australia and the impact of a community-led
childhood diabetes prevention program in the Central Australian context. This project aims to use approaches that centre Indigenous ways
of knowing, being and doing in evaluation.