A new report has found young First Nations people face barriers to managing type two diabetes.
The study, conducted by the Diabetes Across the Lifecourse – Northern Australia Partnership, looked at the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people living with type 2 diabetes.
It involved in-depth interviews with 27 First Nations young people aged between 10 and 25 and found many have a lack of understanding in managing diabetes.
It also found, while contradictory, youth had experienced both normalisation and shame about their condition.
There is a view that everyone has it while having a fear they might be judged by friends.
The Northern Territory has the highest rates of type two diabetes in young people in the world and researchers involved in the study are travelling in search of better models of care and educating youth.
(IMAGE: Flickr)
