Hillary E. Handler

The Reality of Diabetes in Rural Mexico: A Nursing Student Perspective

Tags: diabetes mexico nursing perspective student students

Students from six universities in Canada, Mexico, and the USA participated in a service learning exchange. In order to understand the needs of diabetes patients in rural Mexico three students from Canada and the USA trudged in the heat through the rough terrain to their homes. We used Omaha System signs/symptoms to collect interview data. The standardized language of the questionnaire allowed us to be aware of the interaction between traditional medical beliefs and the western medical model. Some of these challenges include maintaining the traditional family roles, controlling blood glucose levels without the appropriate medical equipment, and economic barriers. One patient was responsible for both caring for her eight young children and working in the fields to put food on the table. Additionally, she was in a constant hypoglycemic state causing her to faint in the fields. We also visited a visually impaired man that was distraught because he needed to rely on others for help in a machismo society. He said “While living in New York City, I was a victim of a robbery. I was so afraid because I thought I was going to die and as a result I got diabetes.” Though some may find this comment strange, it is a common theory among the rural population in Mexico. We will always remember the many Mexican speculate that eating bread absorbs the scare and thus prevents diabetes. This experience gave us a glimpse of the harsh reality that these people face everyday coping with diabetes.