A joint initiative between The University of Western Ontario and the Canadian Diabetes Association received a $500,000 funding boost to support research in diabetes treatment in primary care.
The National Diabetes Management Strategy, led by Dr. Stewart Harris, the Canadian Diabetes Association Chair in Diabetes Management at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, will apply the funding to evaluate the care and challenges family practices face in implementing the Canadian Diabetes Association 2008 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada, and focus on physician and allied health professional education.
“As a clinician/researcher in family medicine and diabetes, I know there are many challenges involved in treating diabetes in an extremely busy primary care setting,” says Harris. “This funding from Novo Nordisk will support our efforts to define the problems and gaps in the prevention and treatment of diabetes and help identify solutions to improve the care of people with diabetes.”
With more than two million Canadians diagnosed with diabetes, healthcare professionals in the family practice setting are caring for the vast majority of patients. In fact, people with type 2 diabetes visit their family physician approximately nine times a year, and about two-thirds of these visits are for diabetes management, creating a tremendous toll on the health care system.
“As a leading diabetes company in Canada we are extremely proud to support the National Diabetes Management Strategy and the tools it will provide to healthcare professionals, particularly in the family practice setting,” says Vince Lamanna, President, Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. “The human cost of the disease is tremendous including blindness, heart disease, kidney problems and nerve damage. Supporting the Strategy offers us a meaningful opportunity to help more family doctors better manage diabetes earlier to prevent serious complications.”
“While we’ve seen tremendous strides in preventive approaches and treatments for people with diabetes, the epidemic continues to broaden and deepen,” says Ellen Malcolmson, President and CEO, Canadian Diabetes Association.
“With support from our partners, like this donation for the Strategy, we can help arm primary healthcare physicians and allied health professionals with new information and tools they need to help reverse the epidemic, ultimately benefiting the millions of Canadians impacted by this disease.”