Newsletter 48 - Diabetes

ISSUE 48

INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL STUDENTS’ FEDERATION

18th OCTOBER 2007

HEALTHY LIVING AND DIABETES CAMPAIGN 2007-2008

Dear Pharmacy students around the world, IPSF would like to invite you to a Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign. We aim to encourage all pharmacy students world wide to become proactively involved to increase awareness among health professionals as well as the public, for healthy lifestyle in the prevention and care of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, while preserving their role as medication experts.

Why is this an important issue for Pharmacy Students and Pharmacists?

As a key player in providing primary health care to the public, pharmacists are in the ideal position to act within the realms of preventative medicine and education, in order to ensure that the community is aware of all risks associated with diabetes.

Promoting a healthy lifestyle is fundamental, and in some instances this may also include pharmaceutical care intervention.

In this case, the pharmacist is in the perfect position to combine their knowledge of medication with non-pharmaceutical aspects of patient care. Pharmacists are often the most accessible and

most visited health care professionals within the patient care community, and must use this position to positively influence patients who may not otherwise seek help for their current or foreseeable health concerns.

To increase awareness of the role of healthy lifestyle in prevention and care of diabetes To encourage pro-active rather than re-active health promotion To further involve pharmacy students and pharmacists into the prevention and Care of diabetes in a multi-disciplinary environment

GENERAL LIFE FACTS ABOUT DIABETES Today, more than 240 million people worldwide are living with diabetes. Within 20 years, this number is expected to grow to 380 million.

Children are not spared from this global epidemic, with its debilitating and life-threatening complications.

Recently on December 20, 2006, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a landmark Resolution recognising diabetes as a chronic, debilitating and costly disease. The

Resolution designates World Diabetes Day as a United Nations Day to be observed every year starting in 2007. This, the UN Resolution, makes World Diabetes Day stronger than ever and provides the opportunity for a significant increase in the visibility of the campaign and an increase in government and media participation, on or around November 14. The Resolution will ensure even greater reach for awareness-raising activities throughout the diabetes world.

DIABETES IN CHILDREN Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood.

It can strike children at any age and is often or diagnosed late, or it is misdiagnosed completely. In many parts of the world, insulin, the main life-saving medication that children with diabetes need to survive, is not available (due to lack of income or availability). As a consequence, many children die of diabetes, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Family, friends, school staff and even the family doctor may not be aware of the ominous signs for this disease. Due to this misfortune, the World Diabetes Day campaigns for 2007 and 2008 set out to challenge this, firmly establishing the message that “no child should die of diabetes”.

Thus the theme for this year's World Diabetes Day campaign is “Diabetes in Children and Adolescents”.

IPSF Secretariat PO Box 84200, 2508 AE Den Haag, The Netherlands www.ipsf.org Interested in sending an article to IPSF Newsletter? Please send your article and photos to publications@ipsf.org If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact us at publications@ipsf.org or ipsf@ipsf.org

Madison, age 4, of Louisville, Kentucky stops for a bite to eat and a glucose check on a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo in July 2005. Madison has been insulin-dependent since she was 3 months old.

“IPSF is the leading international advocacy organisation for pharmacy students with the aim to promote improved public health through provision of information, education, networking as well as a range of publications and professional initiatives. Founded in London in 1949, IPSF represents 350000 pharmacy students and recent graduates from 75 countries worldwide today."

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World Diabetes Day Newsletter #7 DIABETES IN CHILDREN (continued from page 1) Diabetes has a unique impact on children and their families. The daily life of children is disrupted by the need to monitor blood glucose levels, take medication, and balance the effect of activity and food. Diabetes can interfere with the normal developmental tasks of childhood and adolescence, which include succeeding in school and transitioning to adulthood. To help the child and family cope, and to ensure the best possible physical and emotional health of the child, care should be delivered by a multidisciplinary team with good knowledge of paediatric issues. Support must also be given to caregivers and to school personnel. In this way, children with type 1 or type 2 diabetes can reach adulthood with as little adverse impact as possible on their well-being. For children with diabetes in developing countries the situation at present is bleak.

This campaign aims to raise awareness of the rising prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Early diagnosis and early education are crucial to reducing complications and saving lives. The healthcare c o m m u n i t y, e d u c a t o r s , parents and guardians must join forces to help children living with diabetes, to prevent the condition in those at risk, and avoid unnecessary death

Set up a campaign stall in your university, local shopping centre or community centre to educate people about the risk factors of diabetes and raise awareness of how to prevent the disease Educate children on the importance of eating healthily and

Alison is 10 years old and was diagnosed three years ago and started pumping in December 2004. She is very active in her dance company and is shown here checking her blood sugar before a dance competition.

and disability. This is where we as students and future young pharmacists can play an important role!

This campaign aims to raise awareness of the rising prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Early diagnosis and early education are crucial to reducing complications and saving lives. The healthcare community, educators, parents and guardians must join forces to help children living with diabetes, prevent the condition in those at risk, and avoid unnecessary death and disability. This is where we as students and future young pharmacists can play an important role!

Please remember, the ideas listed are only suggestions. Be creative! If you have never done a diabetes campaign before, it is fine to start small.

Make sure you talk with the Contact Person for your association and IPSF about the campaign you do share your success! IPSF has created an Activity Reporting Form you can use. This form is short and easy to use! If you use a form similar to this one for your own association, please send us that one instead.

exercising by giving presentations in their schools or sports clubs Run a medication management session for newly diagnosed diabetics, explaining the importance of compliance with medication, how each medicine works, possible side effects and also the importance of monitoring blood glucose level.

Get in touch with other health professionals, asking for their help and expertises, and invite them to join your campaign

For the calendar: World AIDS Day is coming up soon on 1st of December 2007 If you need any help or information, please feel free to contact the HIV/Aids Coordinator, Sharon Leung (sharonleung.bc@gmail.com)

IPSF has always strived to give useful and valuable information for all public health campaigns with the purpose of bringing awareness to globally significant health issues while highlighting the pharmacist as a health care provider. There are many sites in which research can be made from, if you want to become more aware of this deadly, yet controllable disease, please get in contact with your local diabetes association and check out the following sites: www.who.org www.childrenwithdiabetes.com www.worlddiabetesday.org http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_About/childrenIndex.asp http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/diabeteschildren.htm http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhe althtopics/diabetes/index.html

We wish you the best of luck in your endeavours, and if at any point you require more information, ideas, or resources, please contact: IPSF Chairperson of Public Health (publichealth@ipsf.org) or IPSF Diabetes Coordinator, April Jane Chan, (apriljane.chan@gmail.com).

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