From CHR to tribal gardener: How three CHRs used community-based evidence to change a diabetes program at an urban American Indian tribe

Pending award of funding, a member of the CHR team at the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, an urban American Indian tribe, will co-present this co-authored talk. Community Health Workers are an essential component of community health and wellness in tribal communities. CHRs are also familiar with “Evidence-based” and “translational research” requirements in American Indian diabetes prevention programs, and while several theories show how translational research should be implemented, few models provide room for inclusion of culturally congruent practices and local knowledge. Drawing from both Western and Indigenous theories, this paper explores evidence based and translational theories to show, if, where, and how they can engage with local practices and knowledge. Examples from the YDSP Diabetes Program, including a three-year running tribal garden, are presented to demonstrate how tribal members accepted, modified or rejected health theories to make room for their own evidence-based knowledge, and how CHRs adjusted to these “new” evidences by developing a tribal community garden.