The First Mile

Supported by the SSHRC-funded First Nations Innovation Project

By Michael Mak

Living with diabetes makes great educational demands on a family. The support and involvement of children and parents alike plays a central role in the management of the disease.

The availability of mobile phones is increasingly available in rural and remote First Nations. As costs for these services decrease, the potential to use mobile phones for supporting and educating diabetes patients is increasingly being recognized.

With the establishment of Keewaytinook Mobile (KM) and Dryden Mobility (DMTS), local cellular and data services are becoming available to more First Nations communities across Northern Ontario.

To meet these challenges, K-NET and KO Health established DiabeTEXTs as a new joint initiative. DiabeTEXTs provides diabetes education and information to interested community members through SMS texting and other electronic mediums.

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Project Goals

• To create an active, effective and long-term diabetes education project through cellular SMS texting and other information avenues to promote healthy living habits, carbohydrate counting, medication information, reminders for blood-glucose testing and other related information or community diabetes events.

• Perform research on the effectiveness of the above service in a remote and rural First Nations context.

• Explore and develop the necessary infrastructure within existing mobile networks of KM and DMTS to send diabetes-information texts to a greater number of First Nations patients and caregivers.

• Explore and develop a software interface for health-care providers to send both texts and emails through a computer terminal.

Objectives of the Pilot

• Create a pilot project in interested communities where community wellness workers can send educational diabetes texts to a group of patients (2010/2011)

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Michael and Rebecca in Fort Severn

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What does it mean for First Mile technology development?

The use of mobile technology to share information about diabetes is extremely valuable to the First Nations communities in North-Western Ontario. It helps provide information about lifestyle choices and medication for diabetes patients. It also reaches out to youth, who are historically a difficult-to-reach patient group.

With the success of this pilot in the five KO communities, other uses such as addictions and mental health can be explored. Rebecca, a community diabetes worker in Fort Severn, suggested that cell phones, especially in First Nations communities, have great potential. That's because they can broadcast messages to the majority of the community (particularly youth, as they are they are the ones who are most likely to own a cell phone). Other uses might include community event messaging or anonymous tips for crime.

In 2010, the DiabeTEXTs project proposal received the AGFA health innovation award!

I hope this project helps demonstrate how SMS texting and the innovative use of mobile technology for community health as an example of First Mile development for First Nation communities.