Diabetes Education Study Group

Home

José Manuel Boavida speech in the General Committee Meeting in Athens in September 2005

Being elected President of the DESG represents a real challenge. I will make every effort to continue the work of previous Presidents in the further development of one of the main and more prestigious EASD study groups. Therapeutic education needs to be recognized as a vital component in the long- term follow-up of people with diabetes. Autonomy and quality of life for people with diabetes is only achievable through a dynamic partnership with the health care providers in which therapeutic education is fundamental. Unfortunately this need is not yet fully accepted and adopted in day-to-day care.

In the day-to-day practice the difficulties continue to be enormous. Training in diabetes, as in other chronic diseases, maintains a wide hiatus between theory and practice. Understanding the pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome on the one hand, and succeeding in changing life styles on the other, is a world apart. Only a global integrated approach to the human being can close the gap. People have to be followed, not to get diagnoses. These will always have to take individual somatic, social and psychological factors into consideration.

Therapeutic patient education is one of the most challenging examples of complexity and Complexity is one of the most important epistemologist issues in Medicine. It is present in the major part of its practice: in people who suffer from several diseases, affecting multiple organs and all their systems; it comes out in psychosocial troubles related or not to biomedical problems; and it is present in preventive actions and health promotion which require behaviour changes, etc.

Day to day, situations with multiple factors of biological, psychosocial, cultural and socio-environmental nature frequently interact, in a non-linear way, thus demanding a new approach to the health/disease issue, and how to intervene. Throughout our lives, we, the health care providers, deal with different kinds of people, patients and health problems, in the most varied social and family contexts. We act in the front line of the health system, dealing with uncertain situations, and often without the technical and organizational protection existing in acute medicine in the hospitals.

That is the reason why effectiveness in chronic diseases is so difficult and tiring to achieve. Besides, quality Medicine is a constant cultural exercise, which requires a great effort in the intellectual, technical and relational field. This effort is only bearable and rewarding for those who like to be health care providers in every sense, and mostly for those who like to work with people, as persons, as human beings.

It is in this context that, I think, the DESG maintains its relevance. It will continue to strive for a better quality of life for people with diabetes, through the development and evaluation of educational programmes to improve independence, metabolic control, prevention and early recognition of complications and to encourage relevant research.

It is not a question of ruptures but of developing and deepening DESG’s work.

The future should always be approached as a problem.

Our work is to intervene in the world, it is to built something, recognizing that the 26 years of DESG history offers us many step stones for future developments, such as:

the teaching letters

the Annual General Committee Workshops

the Annual Meetings of the General Committee, during the EASD meetings

the DESG Curriculum, helping countries delegates to promote the STEP (Spreading Therapeutic Education Programs)

the research and training in the TPE field (grants, awards, international projects)

Deepening my knowledge of the DESG will be my task over the next few months. I will have to learn about the ongoing projects, the problems, and the concerns. I am open to listen to suggestions and proposals.

I propose to expand the DESG, exploring the “DESG NETWORK”:

â—¦ the DESG Website is an excellent tool for a multilingual platform of the DESG material, using the translations of the teaching letters in more than 10 languages.

â—¦ a DESG Newsletter, by e-mail, may be one way of keeping contact with the hundreds of members of the DESG, communicating initiatives, meetings, publications and research.

To reinforce the national DESG groups is one of the major issues of my project, deepening their relationship with local scientific societies, patient associations and medical schools.

â—¦ To implement short DESG Workshops (2 to 3 days) increasing the awareness on the importance of TPE, with a similar framework, based on the STEP. These will provide one more efficient way of divulging the DESG and TPE.

â—¦ To strengthen the relationships of the DESG with international institutions like the EASD, the IDF and WHO.

I trust that with dedication and common sense, this important role can be carried out successfully. I hope to be able to count on everybody’s support, in particular the support of the Executive Committee with whom I will work in a team; the support of the past Presidents, Prof. Maldonato and Prof. Assal and, at last but not least of course, the fundamental support of the maison “Servier”. Together, I am certain that we will be able to continue our work in favor of better therapeutic education for people with diabetes.

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

15.7%		UNITED STATES
11.7%		SPAIN
8.1%		UNITED KINGDOM
7.5%		PORTUGAL
6.3%		FRANCE
5.6%		ITALY
4.5%		NETHERLANDS
2.5%		GERMANY
2.5%		INDIA
2.1%		BELGIUM

Today:	7
Yesterday:	28
This week:	79
Last week:	146
This month:	373
Last month:	570
Total:	1450

Diabetes Education Study Group

Events and Tools

Our Material

Organisation

The DESG History

Contacts

JoomlaWatch

Countries

Visitors