10-16 July, Youth Leadership Camp 2017 in Romania

July 07 2017

The 7th edition of the IDF Europe Youth Leadership Camp has just come to an end and it was a great success! The organising team welcomed 22 participants from 21 European countries for a full week of interactive workshops, presentations and sports activities, with the aim of developing the next generation of young advocates in diabetes. You can find the programme HERE.

This year’s camp took place in  Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between the 10th and 16th July, in collaboration with the Federatia Romana de Diabet, Nutritie si Boli Metabolice. 

As in previous years, the camp involved a range of activities such as team building games, physical activities, presentations by the participants and workshops lead by the IDF Europe team. Topics covered included youth activism and advocacy in Europe, leadership, living with diabetes and healthcare systems in Europe. It is of no doubt that the highlight of the week was the flash mob. This was performed by the participants on the 13th July in the salt mine of Turda, at 115 meters depth!  The live performance was shared on Facebook and other social media platforms, attracting more than 600 views in less than a few minutes. An excellent example of their path towards more youth advocacy in diabetes!

Finally, we would like to say a big thank you to the Federatia Romana de Diabet, Nutritie si Boli Metabolice as well as our sponsors, Eli Lilly and the Foundation of European Nurses in Diabetes (FEND), who have continuously supported this important initiative for young Europeans living with diabetes.

“I would wholeheartedly recommend the camp! The week was invaluable. I met great friends, inspirational professionals, and had experiences I will never forget - especially organising a flash mob in a salt mine! I cannot thank IDF Europe and Diabetes UK enough. The most important outcome for me was perhaps the simplest: it made me realise that all the projects in my mind can be truly realised with the right effort, strength and passion. It was incredible to meet people in careers I aspire towards, and I feel I now have the knowledge and confidence to set my own projects in motion. With a mission at heart, we can all be leaders and make the change we want to see in the world”.  Rebecca, UK

If you’re interested in knowing more about our summer camp, please visit: https://www.idf.org/europe/youth-leadership-camp or email us at: ylc@idf-europe.org. 

10 Sep - 2017 IDF Europe Symposium at EASD

July 07 2017

As in previous years, IDF Europe is organising a symposium prior to the opening of the EASD. This year, the symposium focuses on improving compliance to diabetes care and will take place on 10^th September, from 1:30-5:00pm in Edison Hall, International Fair of Lisbon (FIL), Lisbon, Portugal. 

You can download the latest programme and the floorplan. 

Achieving improved compliance to diabetes care: the common task for care providers, health systems and people with diabetes

Compliance and persistence to treatment are great allies of people with diabetes. However, as for all chronic diseases, only 50%¹ of people living with diabetes comply and persist in the long term to their therapy. Poor compliance is seen in all type of interventions: self-monitoring of blood glucose, administration of insulin, medication, diet and physical activity. Poor compliance results in poor health outcomes and complications such as cardiovascular, kidney, nerve and eye disease. As demonstrated in several studies^2,3,  it also has a significant impact on healthcare costs including treatment of the complications, hospitalisation⁴ which represents the largest direct cost linked to the condition.

Yet, compliance and persistence not only stem from the patients’ own motivation to change, but also from the healthcare team who, by instilling the values and importance of self care and appropriate management of their diabetes, act as patient activators. It has been proven^5,6,7,8 that the information and education provided in the first weeks and months following the diagnosis influences the relationship patients have with their condition. In addition to reducing treatment complexity, factors such as better patient information, education and motivation have been shown to be associated with improved compliance. Appropriate, culturally adapted and efficiently delivered information and education by healthcare professionals (HCP) are therefore key to empower people with diabetes. They will ensure that patients have the right tools, that they use them properly and comply in the long run to the therapy that best fits their individual needs and requirements.

As the quote rightly says: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”.
During this interactive session, we will hear the perspectives of people living with diabetes, of healthcare professionals, of decision-makers. We will discuss technology facilitating compliance and persistence, and tackle the economic burden linked to poor compliance to treatment.

A panel discussion and Q&A session will follow.
Time to learn to fish and how to teach it!

[1] World Health Organization: Adherence to long-term therapies. Evidence for action. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003.

[2] http://www.lse.ac.uk/LSEHealthAndSocialCare/research/LSEHealth/MTRG/LSEDiabetesReport26Jan2012.pdf

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2826379/

[4] It implies admission to hospital, laboratory analysis, the work of medical staff, specific therapies, and investments to assure the best quality of care for affected people. The length and the frequency of hospitalisation also increase the burden for health systems.

[5] Carratalá-Munuera MC, Gil-Guillen VF, Orozco-Beltrán D, et al. Barriers associated with poor control in Spanish diabetic patients. A consensus study. Int J Clin Pract 2013. doi:10.1111/ijcp.12160.

[6] “Adherence to Therapies in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes” Luis-Emilio García-Pérez, María Álvarez, Tatiana Dilla, Vicente Gil-Guillén, and Domingo Orozco-Beltrán, Diabetes Ther 2013 Dec 4(2) 175-194

[7] King DE, Mainous AG, Carnemolla M, Everett CJ. Adherence to healthy lifestyle habits in US adults, 1988–2006. Am J Med. 2009;122:528–534. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2008.11.013

[8] Ciechanowski PS, Katon WJ, Russo JE, Walker EA. The patient–provider relationship: attachment theory and adherence to treatment in diabetes. Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158:29–35. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.1.29.