Diabetes Answers for Us: Co-designing Wallet Cards to Support Accurate Diagnosis and Respectful Care in Indigenous, Black and Brown Communities
Author(s) and affiliation(s)
Jeremy Auger – lived experience with type 1 diabetes
Anmol Budhiraja – lived experience with type 2 diabetes, loved, learned and laboured experience
Background / Aims(s)
This project is part of the Diabetes Action Canada Research-to-Action Fellowship in partnership with the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle (IDHC). Community members described being misdiagnosed, having tests delayed and feeling dismissed in appointments—experiences that disproportionately affect Indigenous, Black and Brown people. Our aim is to create practical, culturally grounded tools that help people recognise symptoms, ask for essential tests and assert their rights in clinical settings.
Methods (Who, What, Where)
Together with IDHC, we held a co-design session with over two dozen Indigenous, Black and Brown participants who had lived or loved experience of diabetes or had supported family through misdiagnosis. Sharing Circles explored how racism, weight stigma and stereotypes about “who gets diabetes” shaped care and silenced questions.
Using participants’ words, we drafted “Diabetes Answers for Us” wallet cards listing common symptoms, key tests and plain-language rights for medical appointments. A short follow-up survey invites wider feedback and offers people the chance to review drafts before finalisation
Outcomes (achieved or expected)
The wallet cards and a companion easy-to-read guide will be freely available through Diabetes Action Canada and IDHC in early 2026. We expect them to provide discreet, portable support that increases confidence to ask for tests, helps people connect symptoms to diabetes and enables them to challenge biased or dismissive care in real time.
Lessons Learned (for scaling / adaptation)
Co-design confirmed that shame around diabetes and misdiagnosis is cultural and systemic, not personal. Low-barrier tools like wallet cards can interrupt that shame by giving people accessible language and questions. Grounding the tools in Indigenous, Black and Brown voices, plain language and low-tech design offers a model for adapting this work to other racialized and diaspora communities, including future versions for India.
Description of how people with lived experience are / have been meaningfully involved
The project is led by two Fellows whose lived, loved, learned and laboured experience spans type 1 diabetes, a new type 2 diagnosis, Indigenous identity, Indian diaspora identity, family caregiving and chronic-disease work. The co-design session with more than two dozen community members shaped every stage—from identifying systemic barriers and emotional triggers to deciding which rights, symptoms and tests to include. Their insights continue to guide the wording, visuals and evaluation of the final tools, ensuring they reflect real needs and restore agency in care.
