Empowerment and self-management

In 2000, a group of committed members of the diabetes community in Egypt, including parents of children with the condition and health-care professionals, established ‘Assistance to Youngsters with Diabetes’ (AYD). This is an ambitious project. The ultimate objective of AYD – which recently won the DAWN International Award – is to enhance the quality of life of children with diabetes in

Smoking among people with diabetes parallels that of the general population. However, compared to non-smokers with diabetes, people with diabetes who smoke have twice the risk of premature death. The risk of complications associated with tobacco use and diabetes in combination are nearly 14 times higher than the risk

The number of people with diabetes in the Indian subcontinent has been increasing dramatically: approximately 30-33 million people have diabetes in India and this number could double by 2025. Compared to other ethnic groups, Indians have a high risk of developing diabetes. However, the impact of psycho-social factors related to diabetes care has also contributed to the growing pandemic.

“For forty-eight hours after admission to the hospital the patient is kept on an ordinary diet, to determine the severity of his diabetes. Then he is starved, and no food allowed save whiskey and black coffee. The whiskey is given in the coffee: 1 ounce of whiskey every two hours, from 7am until 7pm. The whiskey is not an essential part of treatment; it merely furnishes a few calories and keeps the patient more comfortable while he is being starved.” Starvation (Allen) Treatment of Diabetes (1915).

We have known for more than half a century that good control of blood sugar (glucose) is important for the normal development of the unborn baby throughout pregnancy. During those years there has been much progress in advising

There is no doubt that the introduction of home blood glucose monitoring has helped to revolutionize diabetes management and reduce the amount of time people with diabetes need to spend in hospital to stabilize their condition. However, this has given rise to a series of compliance and management issues for the person with diabetes and the health professional who provides their care. Jan Alford reports.

The establishment of a practice which puts the person at the centre of care will require a change in the attitudes and beliefs of health professionals, and people with diabetes. A service which places the person with diabetes at the centre of care will undoubtedly demand the adoption of this philosophy by the organizations responsible for the delivery of diabetes care, as well as those networks serving the

When a child is diagnosed with diabetes, the news usually comes as a shock to all family members. This often provokes a crisis which is associated with grief and sadness; a complex scenario emerges. Children with diabetes and their parents often feel overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge required to effectively manage the condition. Parents and children experience feelings of guilt. Parents sometimes feel they may have been able to prevent their child's diabetes; children may blame themselves for an illness, and perceive the condition and its treatment as a form of punishment.

In order to minimize the risk of diabetes complications, effective therapy for people with Type 2 diabetes involves lifestyle changes and poly-pharmacy targeting levels of blood glucose, blood pressure and blood fat. However, the strict targets set in recent guidelines are seldom achieved by the majority of people with diabetes. Barriers to effective diabetes therapy have been identified within the organization of health care and in the interaction between health-care providers and people with

The IDF Congress has historically served as an international forum for sharing scientific advances. For the first time in Congress history, education, nutrition and the psychosocial aspects of diabetes were showcased in a specific track and addressed in a plenary lecture at the 17th IDF Congress in Mexico City. The inclusion of these themes served as a reassuring confirmation that the world's diabetes experts recognize the relevance of education and psychosocial aspects in improving diabetes outcomes.