[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Sherifali.jpg” caption=”Diana Sherifali, an assistant professor with the McMaster School of Nursing, has found that participation in community-based diabetes support programs can help affected individuals better manage their condition.”]Participation in a unique, community-based diabetes support program has helped
affected Hamiltonians better manage their condition and led to improvement of most
diabetes self-management behaviours, according to a new McMaster study.

Diabetes affects about 10 per cent of the adult population in Hamilton and the number
of young people diagnosed is rising across North America at an alarming rate. Problems
related to diabetes include blindness, heart attacks, kidney disease and infections
leading to amputations. It is a complex illness that requires resources to manage and
one's ability to self-manage the condition is challenged by the limited availability of
clinic-based resources.

The free and voluntary Diabetes Hamilton program supplements the limited specialty
services and tools by providing community-based resources, including: a diabetes
registry, involving baseline and annual follow-up health questionnaires; a quarterly
newsletter; a comprehensive inventory of over 100 diabetes-related community
resources; a website offering information and resources; and educational events for
diabetic individuals and health-care providers.

“What makes Diabetes Hamilton (DH) unique is that it provides the opportunity for
participants to gain self-management skills and knowledge directly, as well as engage
their health-care provider at the same time,” said Diana Sherifali, an assistant professor
with the McMaster School of Nursing and the study's lead investigator. “By registering in
the program, participants and their health-care provider are given evidence-based
diabetes resources and tools to facilitate self-management, creating a platform for
discussions regarding diabetes care.”

For the study, published in the latest issue of European Diabetes Nursing, 2,994 DH
registrants from February 2000 to March 2007 were included in a cross-sectional
survey and a trend analysis, examining the impact of a community-based approach –
specifically the DH program – on diabetes self-management behaviours.

The trend analysis of behaviours showed that most self-reported self-management
behaviours increased over the years with participation in DH. Notably, researchers saw
an increase in cholesterol screening, diabetes provider visits and medication use for
glycaemic control and vascular protection. Also, more than 80 per cent of registrants
reported that DH is helping them manage their diabetes.

Sherifali said this research is important because it illustrates that “self-management
does not need to be facilitated by health-care providers in limited settings with limited
resources; rather, participants have the power to self-manage and guide the care that
they need in collaboration with their health-care provider.”

For more information, visit www.diabeteshamilton.ca.