NL Newsletter 32 Bis - Diabetes

Design by Mohanad Nader

Special Edition

8th November 2006

IPSF Publications

World Diabetes Day 14th November 2006 Welcome to this special edition of the IPSF Newsletter in recognition of World Diabetes Day on 14th November. Health Living and Diabetes is one of the official public health campaigns of IPSF and we encourage all our members to mark this day by organising events and campaigns in their own country.

Why diabetes?

Many people do not recognise diabetes as being a life-threatening disease and causing a high mortality like communicable diseases such as HIV are known to do. HOWEVER: • Diabetes affects more than 230 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 350 million by 2025 • Each year a further 7 million people develop diabetes • Each year over 3 million deaths are tied directly to diabetes.

Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes • Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death by disease globally. [www.idf.org/home] IPSF invites all our members to run a Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign to mark World Diabetes Day on 14th November IPSF Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign This campaign, developed by IPSF, has the following aims: • To increase awareness of the role of a healthy lifestyle in prevention and care of diabetes • To encourage pro-active rather than re-active health promotion: prevention is better than cure • To further involve pharmacy students and pharmacists in the prevention and care of diabetes in a multi-disciplinary environment

World Diabetes Day World Diabetes Day (WDD) was established by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in 1991 with the aim of co-ordinating diabetes awareness worldwide. WDD has an associated theme each year. For 2006, the theme is Diabetes Care for Everyone. This theme was chosen to raise awareness of people in both the developed and developing countries that experience difficulties in accessing healthcare or are not aware or motivated to access the services available to them. It emphasises the need for each person

with diabetes or at risk of diabetes to have access to the best quality of education, prevention and care that is possible.

Proactive Health Promotion The focus of IPSF Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaigns has always been to involve pharmacy students and young pharmacists in educating the public on the risk factors for developing diabetes and management of the disease, while gaining a sound knowledge themselves of a prevalent public health issue. Campaigns centre on prevention, which may be divided into two categories: Primary Prevention: Preventing the development of diabetes by educating the public to reduce their risk factors for developing the disease The includes promoting healthy eating, reducing obesity and encouraging physical exercise in the target population Secondary Prevention: Preventing the development of complications such as visual problems, kidney problems and cardiovascular disease in people already diagnosed with diabetes, to reduce mortality in the diabetic population • • •

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in adults in developed countries People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people without diabetes It is estimated that diabetes and it’s complications accounts for between 5% and 10% of a nation’s health budget The possibilities are endless!

So you want to run a diabetes campaign in your country but need some ideas? Why not…

• 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 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, side effects possible and also the importance of monitoring blood glucose level.

Multi-disciplinary Collaboration The IPSF Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign aims to train and in turn motivate pharmacy students to move towards multi-disciplinary collaboration in planning events and

campaigns. Consider the potential for partnering with other healthcare professions to implement your campaign, including: • Medical students/Doctors • Nutrition students/Dieticians • Nursing students/Nurses • Teachers / Childcare providers Campaign Resources The following list of information sources will provide you with a good starting point for planning your campaigns. It is important to remember however, that you should utilise available resources that are most relevant to your country.

World Diabetes Day: http://www.worlddiabetesday.org International Diabetes Federation (IDF): http://www.idf.org/home/ The World Health Organization(WHO): - WHO Diabetes: http://who.int/diabets/en/ - WHO Obesity: http://who.int/topics/obesity/en/ - Local diabetes associations: http://idf.org/home/index.cfm?unode=3B9692C4-C0262FD3-87AE41DD113E5AF3 Campaign Materials: http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/go/WDD2006/material http://www.who.int/chp/chronic_disease_report/media/en/ So you want to run a Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign but have not yet started your planning?

You still have questions?

You need some help or advice with your ideas?

Contact: Anna Watson, IPSF Chairperson of Public Health, publichealth@ipsf.org OR Andreia Bruno, IPSF Diabetes Awareness Co-ordinator, andreiafbruno@ipsf.org Many countries, including member associations from Romania, Portugal, UK and Egypt ran a Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign last year. Add your country to the list in 2006!