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Tribune News Network
Doha
A type 2 diabetes education programme developed by researchers from the UK has been adapted for Arabic patients by a team of diabetes educators from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in collaboration with the University of Leicester.
The programme, Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed (DESMOND), was developed through evidence-based research and has been widely implemented across the UK during the past decade.
Based around physical activity and healthy lifestyle changes, the programme was adapted from English to Arabic, a world-first for the curriculum, as part of an ongoing effort to support patients with type 2 diabetes in Qatar and other Arabic-speaking countries.
Manal Othman, director of Diabetes Education at HMC, said diabetes is one of the most pressing health conditions in Qatar.
She said unless wide-scale steps are taken to change behaviours and address diabetes risk factors, the number of families affected by the disease will continue to grow.
“We know that the majority of diabetes care is the responsibility of the patient, so it is essential that our patients are well-informed and skilled to manage this disease,” said Othman.
Othman and her team not only adapted the programme from English to Arabic, but they also made modifications to ensure it was culturally appropriate and the content relevant to the local population.
The programme, which consists of six hours of education and is generally delivered in one-day or half-day formats, helps participants understand their diabetes, including risk factors and complications, and make food choices.
Dr Mahmoud Zirie, senior consultant and head of the Endocrinology Department at Hamad General Hospital, says the programme is significant because diabetes is a progressive condition. He says while traditionally treatment has centred on drug interventions, the benefits of educating people about how to manage their condition themselves cannot be disputed.
“If not managed properly, type 2 diabetes can lead to devastating complications, including blindness, a lost limb or an increased risk of a stroke or heart attack, which is why introducing people to DESMOND is so crucial,” said Dr Zirie.
“Anyone with type 2 diabetes has to make multiple daily choices about the management of their condition, such as appropriate dietary intake, physical activity, and adherence to prescribed medications and these choices are often made with minimal input from a healthcare professional. While patient education has long been part of the treatment protocol here at HMC, we know that structured education, and specifically DEMOND, works,” added Dr Zirie.
To date, 227 patients
have completed the programme and over a dozen HMC patient educators have been trained to deliver
DESMOND.
Othman says another benefit of the programme is that patients who may have been isolated by their diagnosis in the past are now provided with a support system.
Othman added that of the patients who have completed the programme and continue to be cared for by the National Diabetes Center at Hamad General Hospital, most have reported reducing their HbA1c levels by around 1 percent; the HbA1c test records average blood sugar readings of someone with diabetes over weeks or months.
Doha
A type 2 diabetes education programme developed by researchers from the UK has been adapted for Arabic patients by a team of diabetes educators from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in collaboration with the University of Leicester.
The programme, Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed (DESMOND), was developed through evidence-based research and has been widely implemented across the UK during the past decade.
Based around physical activity and healthy lifestyle changes, the programme was adapted from English to Arabic, a world-first for the curriculum, as part of an ongoing effort to support patients with type 2 diabetes in Qatar and other Arabic-speaking countries.
Manal Othman, director of Diabetes Education at HMC, said diabetes is one of the most pressing health conditions in Qatar.
She said unless wide-scale steps are taken to change behaviours and address diabetes risk factors, the number of families affected by the disease will continue to grow.
“We know that the majority of diabetes care is the responsibility of the patient, so it is essential that our patients are well-informed and skilled to manage this disease,” said Othman.
Othman and her team not only adapted the programme from English to Arabic, but they also made modifications to ensure it was culturally appropriate and the content relevant to the local population.
The programme, which consists of six hours of education and is generally delivered in one-day or half-day formats, helps participants understand their diabetes, including risk factors and complications, and make food choices.
Dr Mahmoud Zirie, senior consultant and head of the Endocrinology Department at Hamad General Hospital, says the programme is significant because diabetes is a progressive condition. He says while traditionally treatment has centred on drug interventions, the benefits of educating people about how to manage their condition themselves cannot be disputed.
“If not managed properly, type 2 diabetes can lead to devastating complications, including blindness, a lost limb or an increased risk of a stroke or heart attack, which is why introducing people to DESMOND is so crucial,” said Dr Zirie.
“Anyone with type 2 diabetes has to make multiple daily choices about the management of their condition, such as appropriate dietary intake, physical activity, and adherence to prescribed medications and these choices are often made with minimal input from a healthcare professional. While patient education has long been part of the treatment protocol here at HMC, we know that structured education, and specifically DEMOND, works,” added Dr Zirie.
To date, 227 patients
have completed the programme and over a dozen HMC patient educators have been trained to deliver
DESMOND.
Othman says another benefit of the programme is that patients who may have been isolated by their diagnosis in the past are now provided with a support system.
Othman added that of the patients who have completed the programme and continue to be cared for by the National Diabetes Center at Hamad General Hospital, most have reported reducing their HbA1c levels by around 1 percent; the HbA1c test records average blood sugar readings of someone with diabetes over weeks or months.
