Nurse returns to Thorncliffe Park roots, supports diabetes prevention in children in high-risk community

When the opportunity came up to work on a new program, Begin Right. Eat. Play., to raise awareness of Type 2 Diabetes in children in Thorncliffe Park, Meena Lalani, nurse at Michael Garron Hospital, part of the Toronto East Health Network, was eager to take part.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Eleven million Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes. In Ontario, one in three children are overweight or obese – and the Thorncliffe community has the highest rates of diabetes and gestational diabetes in the region.

“You can change the disease risk in a generation just by making a few small changes,” says Meena, Project Coordinator, Child/Family Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Project.

The project is part of the Toronto East Health Network, the hospital's extended network of community-based partnerships and services across 22 diverse neighbourhoods in East Toronto; the catchment spans from Midland Avenue in the east, to Bayview Avenue in the west, and north from Lake Ontario to Eglinton Avenue.

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'Diabetes is that stranger in many cultures'

While Meena has been inspired by her sister's impactful work as a diabetes nurse educator in the Thorncliffe community, she's also been influenced by something more personal.

Being of South-Asian descent, Meena is at an elevated risk of diabetes.

Working nights and shiftwork on a labour and delivery unit, she did not always have healthy eating habits. But as a nurse, she knows the importance of healthy checks, so she had her blood sugar checked.

She was quite surprised to learn that at age 24, she was almost pre-diabetic.

For many newcomers that call the M4H postal code home, understanding how to access healthcare can be challenging, especially in a foreign language. According to Meena, many newcomers assume you have to pay for prevention programs and health checks and that you can only go to the doctor when you are sick.

Meena understands these barriers well. When she immigrated to Canada at age 13, her parents chose the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood to settle in.

“Good parents teach us that strangers are dangerous and you don't talk to them,” says Meena. “Diabetes is that stranger in many cultures.”

Community-based approach to chronic disease prevention

To overcome some of these inherent barriers, Meena spends her days collaborating with members of the community, speaking with mothers living with gestational diabetes, growing mentorship programs in local schools, educating health care providers, engaging with faith groups, and sharing best practices with the larger diabetes network.

The Begin Right. Eat. Play program in Thorncliffe Park, has multiple prongs. A number of programs are being planned to engage families in healthy eating and to make other lifestyle changes. There is also an awareness component targeting females before conception to better understand their risk and the impact of gestational diabetes on their children later in life.

The program has been developed with a participatory action approach, meaning it has been built with the community based on what they want. Input from the community has led to changes in the titling of various programs, determining the best times to offer programs, selecting sites for screening programs and much more.

Meena has learned a lot about diabetes risk and prevention in a short period of time. She's made lifestyle changes and her blood sugar levels have come back into normal range.

Meena is continuing her passion for child health as she pursues her Nurse Practitioner designation in paediatrics from the University of Toronto.

This project is funded by the Child & Youth Diabetes Strategy of the Lawson Foundation.