Listening to Elders / WAHA Diabetes Research Programme

Listening to Elders begins from a different definition of expertise. Diabetes prevention and care in remote First Nations communities cannot be designed only from clinical guidelines or urban service assumptions; it also has to be understood through the experience of people who know the community, the land, the health system and the history of care. Elders and community members are therefore knowledge partners, not simply participants from whom data are collected.

The programme is a community-based participatory research effort in the Mushkegowuk and Weeneebayko context of Northern Ontario. It explores diabetes prevention, care, digital health and cultural safety through the lived experience of community members, Elders and health providers. Geography, continuity of services, digital infrastructure, trust and historical relationships with health systems are treated as part of the research question rather than background details.

The programme also asks what role digital and virtual care should play in remote settings. Technology can extend reach, but it can also reproduce old problems if it is introduced without cultural safety, reliable infrastructure or community control. Listening to Elders therefore places participation before solution design. The goal is to understand strengths and barriers, co-create ways of sharing knowledge and use validated community learning to shape future diabetes strategies.