Review of diabetes structured education

Subsequent to the launch of the Diabetes Expert Advisory Group’s First Report in November 2008 and the recommendations thereof, the Health Service Executive in conjunction with the Diabetes Federation of Ireland held their first National Conference and Workshop on Diabetes Education and Empowerment. The objective of the day was to present to health professionals and experts the available structured education programmes in the Republic of Ireland on both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The programmes presented were CODE, DESMOND, X-PERT Ireland, BERGER, DAFNE, and BRUCIE. Ms Florence Browne, National Care Advisor, Diabetes UK Northern Ireland was invited as the keynote speaker for the day and participated in the afternoon workshops. The conference shared information on courses being delivered in Ireland. The workshops were arranged to facilitate a cross section of the disciplines in each group in order to reach a consensus on the criteria for structured education programmes in Ireland. On the day, key criteria for structured diabetes education in Ireland were agreed by a multidisciplinary group of diabetes experts and HSE personnel. In addition, it was agreed that programmes should be integrated into standard diabetes care, be cost effective and flexible enough to meet the needs of every group while still maintaining structure and content. Following on from the above, it was agreed by the DEAG Education and Empowerment sub-group to carry out a review of structured patient education in the Republic of Ireland. This report is the outcome of that work.