Some signposts for medical and nursing educational policy formulation for aboriginal healthcare

As part of a larger ethnographic inquiry designed to ascertain how the Cree communities of the James Bay in northern Quebec viewed, interpreted, and handled the growing incidence of diabetes, this study explored the perceptions, knowledge, and experiences of health professionals serving aboriginal clientele in connection with diabetes. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 28 health professionals. Findings indicate that health professional perceptions of lifestyle are generated from within a nonaboriginal context and that knowledge and understanding of diabetes are rooted within patterns of health practices attributed to individual behaviour. The study concludes that trends towards individualizing the incidences and prevalence of diabetes obfuscate the socioeconomic processes affecting Cree people.