How might older Bengali women express love differently through healthy foods to better manage their diabetes?
- Project date: 2015 October - 2016 January
- Project team: Developed in collaboration with Culainn Bolandshanahan and Jupone Wang
- Project client: Blithehale Health Centre
- Project location: Tower Hamlets
- Project tutor: J.Paul
Those who supported us in the project: Brady Arts and Community Centre, Sonali Gardens Day Centre, Idea Store Whitechapel, Rahima Begum
My role: User researcher, Research analyst, Information architect, Design strategist, Brand designer, Graphic designer, Photographer.
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Project background
Blithehale Health Centre is a thriving multicultural Health Centre and GP practice near to Tower Hamlets in which one-third of the population is Bangladeshi.
And, diabetes is at least three times as likely in Bangladeshi women, compared with the general population in Tower Hamlets. We were asked to work with Blithehale Health Centre to address the health issue within the community.
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The research
We had an initial talk with the practice manager, Dr. Simon Brownleader, in Blithehale Health Centre to get a picture of the critical current situation. Afterward, we interviewed three groups of people: specialists in the health sector, the general public in Tower Hamlets and patients in Blithehale Health Centre to understand more from a different perspective. We also immersed ourselves in Bengali vibrant culture.
Rahima Begum (community activist)
“A lot of Bengali culture is about exchanging food and cooking together. It’s showing love. You have to share and eat a lot.”
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Key insights
FOOD SHARING CULTURE
Traditional Bengali cuisine includes a lot of sugar, saturated fats such as ghee and vegetable oil. But sharing food regularly with friends and family is how Bengali women express love. This leads to an excessive amount of food being consumed and ended up getting diabetes.
CURRENT FAILED DIABETES MANAGEMENT
Due to funding cuts, lots of support services which help to manage those with diabetes through classes and providing information on managing the condition have had to be removed.
Bengali patients think by taking medication and going to the health centre regularly just to have a chat about their condition, they’re managing their diabetes, which often frustrates GPs.
LOVE & SUPPORT FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Bengali women love to try new activities and meet people with family and friends. They also would take health advice when their children are proactive in supporting their health needs.
Bengali women also need an ongoing support structure to manage diabetes with community services, friends and family and GP. Without this network of support services, it’s easy to slip in-to bad habits which can lead to a worse condition.
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The solutions
Prema, a social kitchen that offers light, Bengali cuisine and cooking classes; encouraging older Bengali women to cook and eat more healthily, regularly.
It is based on the 7 Prema cooking principles which highlight key areas of classic Bengali cuisine that could be changed in order to manage diabetes.
The story below demonstrate how Prema works.
Benefits for two main stakeholders
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The outcome
We tested our solutions in several community centres and set up a stall in Whitechapel Market to understand people ‘s thought about our solutions and moreover to help us refine and improve it. And we got many positive feedback and support.
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Exhibitions of work
Prema project was exhibited at the end of 2015 in Royal College of Art.
