Health Inequities and Social Determinants : Diabetes Prevalence Among Canadian Aboriginals

Diabetes is a chronic disease that either impairs the production of or response to insulin, a hormone vital to the process of converting food into energy. Diabetic patients usually have one or more chronic conditions, such as diabetic foot, retinopathy, and cardiovascular diseases. Although the Aboriginal population represents 3.3 per cent of the Canadian population, the diabetes rate is three to five times the national average. In the past twenty years there has been a rapid increase in diabetes prevalence among the Aboriginal population. The purpose of this paper is to use social determinant theory to explain the distinct gap in diabetes prevalence between Aboriginals and the general Canadian population. After discussing topics of social determinant theory, policy level strategies are proposed to address diabetes among Aboriginals