About
The Colombian Diabetes Association (ACD) is a non-profit organization founded in 1954 to deliver comprehensive diabetes care to people with diabetes in Colombia, particularly to those with less economic resources. It is also committed to continuous education for health professionals and research in the field of diabetes.
During the past 59 years, the ACD has provided continuous education to more than 3,000 health professionals from Colombia and the Andean region.
Education in the ACD is considered a fundamental pillar in the treatment of the person with diabetes and the institution has developed a structured education programme which has been recognized by various local and international organizations including the IDF which designated the ACD as an IDF Centre of Education for 2009-2013 and 2013 – 2015.
Main Focus
- To generate awareness of the health burden of diabetes and the need for prevention and early and appropriate treatment
- To help people with diabetes especially those with less economic resources.
- To improve the quality of life of the people with diabetes by providing a humane, timely and efficient health care that responds to their needs and expectations, with an aim to obtain the best results in the frame of modern management.
- To act as a reference Diabetes Centre in Colombia particularly in the field of education and research, maintain the rate of new affiliates and continue to provide then with the best comprehensive care.
Activities
Education Programmes
Structured education programme for people with diabetes
Education is one of the main pillars of diabetes management and the ACD provides a continuous programme which begins at the time when the patient arrives. It runs in parallel and coordinated with the medical care, offering group sessions, workshops and individualized consultations by health professionals in the field of nutrition, physical activity, podology, psychology and diabetes education in general. The programme runs on a weekly basis and is free of charge. There are also special programmes for children that include an annual summer camp and recently, a training course for pump users.
Training programmes for diabetes educators
Basic course : diabetes educators are essential for the team approach to diabetes management and the ACD offers a full week basic training course where they learn about diabetes management with emphasis on lifestyle changes and empowerment for self-control. It includes lectures, workshops and practical sessions on teaching skills, taking care of disabled persons, etc. The curriculum is based on the standards produced by the IDF.
Advanced course: The ACD organizes an advanced course every year on a specific topic of interest for diabetes educators with international speakers.
Basic training course for primary care physicians
Primary care physicians are the gate keepers in diabetes management. The ACD offers them a week long basic training course on the primary care of people with diabetes with emphasis on prevention and management of risk factors for complications. The course includes lectures, workshops and case solving following evidence-based clinical guidelines.
Basic training course on the diabetic foot
The ACD has a very active foot clinic and offers short courses in foot care for physicians and health professionals with emphasis in prevention and management of foot ulcers.
Research
The ACD has a clinical research centre certified in GPC by the Colombian Regulatory Agency (INVIMA) with a full-time study coordinator and conducts epidemiological studies and clinical trials. This has resulted in a considerable number of scientific publications.