There is a high prevalence of diabetes and obesity in Australian South Sea Islanders.
There is also a higher incidence of smoking, as well as asthma. Let's explore some sensitivities and solutions.
Health education
Living for today
Traditional food
Fitting in
Hospital food
Vegetarianism
Feasts
Health staff members urgently need to educate their community about diet. Organising information nights, health walks and pamphlet drops are all possible solutions.
Educating young people is also a successful strategy as they bring their knowledge into the home.
One-on-one dialogue with a client is also useful. Ensure that your client understands why it is important to eat healthily. Explain your point of view in detail. Listen to your client's views too.
Clients who forgo fatty foods and smoking are often concerned about the effect unhealthy practices have on longevity and future health.
However, this strategy may not work for all your Islander clients. Some Australian South Sea Islanders live for today. This may change the emphasis of your dialogue with your client.
Engage the help of another family member if clients are unwilling to change their ways. Encouragement from a family member might help them to keep to their regime.
Many Australian South Sea Islanders enjoy fish, rice, damper, curried meat, tinned meat, tinned fish, taro, sweet potatoes and so forth.
Some foods have over time become traditional foods.
Food that you might view as commonplace, such as pasta or chicken in white sauce, might not be commonplace for some of your Australian South Sea Islander clients.
Eating new food is often a stressful experience. Cast your mind back to the first time you ate a new food. How would you feel if, while in hospital, you were forced to eat unusual or foreign food?
And remember, when you're sick 'comfort food' can be heartening.
In many Australian South Sea Islander families, fitting in is an important part of the culture.
If you ask a client to eat a special diet, do not expect unconditional compliance. Your client might not enjoy being different to the family.
If possible, base the diet upon food that is not too different to the client's usual diet.
Hospital food is often very different from traditional Australian South Sea Islander food. Your clients may feel more comfortable if they are allowed to eat home-cooked food, even if it's just the occasional snack.
Some Australian South Sea Islanders are Seventh Day Adventists and do not eat meat.
As family visits are common in Australian South Sea Islander culture, many families keep enough food on hand for impromptu feasts. It is likely that clients will not keep to a diet if their family drops in. They will cook copious amounts of food and share it with their family. Sharing food with their family is more important than sticking to a diet, especially if your clients feel as if the diet is imposed upon them.
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