Traditional Dance as an Exercise Regimen for Marshallese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes is a global health care problem. It is associated with several health complications such as overweight/obesity, cardiovascular complications, vision complications, and renal complications among others. Some groups are more disproportionally affected by diabetes and one of these such groups are the Marshallese people (Naseem, 2010). Exercise can be a useful way for patients to manage their diabetes. The problem is about 65% of Marshallese do not exercise at all or only exercise for less than 20 minutes a day which does not meet the recommended weekly value of 150 minutes per week (Reddy, Shehata, Smith, & Maskarinec, 2005; WHO, 2011). Culturally appropriate exercise may be a better fit for these people as compared to other forms of exercise such as running or weight-lifting. The purpose of this project was to develop a dance regimen which was culturally appropriate. Once the regimen was recorded, it was evaluated by a group of stakeholders for feasibility, cultural appropriateness and whether it met the current recommendations for physical activity. It was designed to target the East Hawai’i Marshallese adult population who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Results include the creation of a culturally appropriate dance exercise regimen which met recommendations for physical activity overall and that this regimen is a tool to aid providers and patients meet and exceed their diabetes management goals.