Pampanga gov, docs mull community-based campaign vs diabetes

Sun.Star: CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Pampanga Provincial Government has instituted moves on setting up programs for people with diabetes. Governor Eddie Panlilio on Wednesday met with representatives of the Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (PSEM) to discuss an innovative way in which a diabetes prevention and detection program can be instituted in Pampanga with long-term, community-based and self-sustaining attributes. Dubbed "Hawak Kamay Laban sa Diabetes," it is PSEM's answer to the call for effective public health program for diabetes program and in collaboration with local government units, other agencies and grassroots organizations. Diabetes mellitus continues to affect many people all over the world and it is considered a global epidemic. By the year 2025, around 324 million people will have diabetes In the Philippines, it is estimated that more than three million Filipinos have this chronic disease that is beset with many difficulties and requires long-term treatment to avoid the many complications that can affect many parts of the body, literally from head to toe. Recent studies showed that diabetes mellitus can be prevented by aggressive lifestyle modification (balanced diet, adequate physical activity, healthy weight maintenance) and early use of some medications in persons who are at high risk of developing it. Diabetes prevention is the most logical solution to the rising tide of diabetes worldwide. Unfortunately, most prevention programs are limited in scope and do not produce major change in the general population. PSEM proposes a grassroots-sourced program that begins with the identification of trainers from different barangay health units who shall undergo a workshop on diabetes screening and prevention. The program of the workshop for barangay health workers includes a pretest, a discussion of the signs and symptoms of diabetes and whom to diagnose and screen. It is followed by discussions on its complications, lifestyle management and medical management. Finally, the workshop conducts sessions on glucose monitoring, blood pressure measurement and waist circumference. It ends with a post-test and a distribution of kits for each barangay consisting of a teaching module, a glucose meter, a weighing scale, a tape measure and data collection forms. Panlilio committed the assistance of the Provincial Capitol in introducing the program to the component city, municipalities and the barangays in order to mitigate the growing menace. The governor said: "The ordinary Kapampangan lifestyle, coupled with the rich diet that we have been used to, makes us one of the most susceptible people in the Philippines. Diabetes is the eighth killer in our country, and it would do well for us to mitigate the problem right here in our province with the help of organizations like PSEM." - Sun.Star