Capacity-building of the allied health workforce to prevent and control diabetes: lessons learnt from the National Initiative to Reinforce and Organize General Diabetes Care in Sri Lanka (NIROGI Lanka) project.
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Date
2016-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia
Abstract
In 2008, to tackle the exponential rise in the clinical burden of diabetes that was
challenging the health systems in Sri Lanka, a shift in focus towards patientcentred
care linked with community health promotion was initiated by the National
Initiative to Reinforce and Organize General Diabetes Care in Sri Lanka (NIROGI
Lanka) project of the Sri Lanka Medical Association. Specific training of “diabetes
educator nursing officers” (DENOs), field staff in maternal and child health, footwear
technicians, and health promoters from the community, was instituted to improve
knowledge, skills and attitudes in the area of control and prevention of diabetes.
This article highlights some of the activities carried out to date with the allied health
workforce and volunteer community. Specifically, it describes experiences with
the DENO programme: the educational and administrative processes adopted,
challenges faced and lessons learnt. It also highlights an approach to prevention
and management of complications of chronic diabetic foot through training a
cohort of prosthetics and orthotics technicians, in the absence of podiatrists, and
an initiative to provide low-cost protective footwear. Harnessing the enthusiasm
of volunteers – adults and schoolchildren – to address behavioural risk factors
in a culturally appropriate fashion has also been a key part of the NIROGI Lanka
strategy.
Description
Keywords
allied health workers, capacity-building, diabetes education, health promotion, primary care, Sri Lanka
Citation
WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 2016;5(1): 34-39.