Survey Finds 9 out 10 People With Type 2 Diabetes are Being Failed When it Comes to Education About Their Condition
BURGESS HILL, England, May 27/PRNewswire/ --
As the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is
set to announce new guidance (28th May) recommending regular blood glucose
monitoring that is supported by appropriate education for people with Type
2(i) diabetes, brand new research reveals that Type 2 sufferers lack the
education they need to properly self-manage(ii) despite the NHS being
required to provide this by law(iii). The study conducted by Roche
Diagnostics, a global leader with Accu-Chek diabetes management systems and
services, found that more than 9 in 10 (94%) Type 2 sufferers are being
failed as they have not attended any formal education courses(iv) to support
the management of their diabetes(v).
The research conducted amongst 872 people with Type 2 diabetes(vi) found
that just under half (45%) wished there was more information available to
them about managing and treating their diabetes, with only one in three (33%)
being offered information about formal education courses by their healthcare
professional, and just 6% ever attending formal education. This figure
includes insulin users who have a heightened need to manage and understand
their diabetes. The survey also found that whilst over two-thirds (67%) said
they were confident about their knowledge of how to self-manage, a similar
figure (65%) were experiencing frequent episodes of hypoglycaemia or
hyperglycaemia, at least once a year or more, putting them at risk of
long-term health complications(vii).
It is widely recognised that careful blood glucose monitoring is an
important component of good diabetes care, however this has been
traditionally seen as only essential in Type 1 diabetes. The NICE review
acknowledges that regular testing helps people with Type 2 diabetes assess
the effect of their medication or lifestyle changes in controlling their
diabetes, and hence helping avoid long-term complications.
Dr David Cavan, consultant diabetologist at the Royal Bournemouth
Hospital and spokesman for the Diabetes Education Network, said: "It is very
encouraging that NICE has recommended self-management education for people
with Type 2 diabetes, and that they now recommend that glucose
self-monitoring should be offered to all patients as part of their
self-management regime. This new research shows that more needs to be done to
ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes receive the right type of support for
their long-term health needs and well-being."
The Roche Diagnostics survey found that when diagnosed, three-quarters
(75%) of respondents were recommended by their healthcare professional to
self-monitor their blood glucose levels on a daily basis. However almost six
in ten (59%) were not following these guidelines by self-monitoring less
often than daily or not at all.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading
research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and
diagnostics. As the world's biggest biotech company and an innovator of
products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to
improving people's health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in
in-vitro diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, and is a
market leader in virology. It is also active in other major therapeutic areas
such as autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and metabolic disorders and
diseases of the central nervous system. In 2007 sales by the Pharmaceuticals
Division totalled 36.8 billion Swiss francs, and sales by the Diagnostics
Division totalled 9.3 billion Swiss francs. Roche Diabetes Care posted 2007
sales of 3.2 billion Swiss francs. Roche has R&D agreements and strategic
alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in
Genentech and Chugai, and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D in
2007. Worldwide, the Group employs about 79,000 people. Additional
information is available on the Internet at http://www.roche.com.
About Roche Diabetes Care
Roche Diabetes Care is a pioneer in the development of blood glucose
monitoring systems and a global leader for diabetes management systems and
services. For more than 30 years, the Accu-Chek brand has been committed to
enable people with diabetes to live life as normal and active as possible as
well as to help healthcare professionals manage their patients' condition in
an optimal way. Today, the Accu-Chek portfolio offers people with diabetes
and healthcare professionals innovative products and services and
comprehensive solutions for convenient, efficient and effective diabetes
management spanning from blood glucose monitoring through information
management to insulin delivery. The Accu-Chek brand encompasses blood glucose
meters, infusion pumps, lancing and data management systems.
For more information please visit http://www.accu-chek.com. Further
information about Roche Diagnostics including careers can be obtained by
visiting http://www.roche-diagnostics.co.uk
All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are legally protected.
(i) There are over 2 million people with Type 2 diabetes in the UK. It is
the most common of the two types of diabetes and accounts for 85% - 95% of
cases. Developing when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough,
or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly, it is often
linked with being overweight. It tends to appear in people over the age of
40, however, recently, more children are being diagnosed with the condition,
some as young as seven (Diabetes UK).
(ii) The recommendations on education have recently been acknowledged by
the Healthcare Commission (July 2007). Their research within PCTs found that
the number of people who had not attended an education course on diabetes
care, and would like to, ranged from 16% at the trust with the lowest
attendance rate to 41% at the trust with the highest rate. Approximately half
of trusts (55%) had 10% of people or fewer reported attending a course on
diabetes care.
(iii) NICE Technology Appraisal Guidance - No.60. Patient-education
models for diabetes (2003). Under clinical governance arrangements, NHS
organisations in England and Wales have to take all NICE guidance into
account. In addition, in January 2002 the Government announced statutory
obligation for the NHS to provide funding for treatments recommended by NICE
as part of its technology appraisals work programme, but only if considered
appropriate by the clinician and patient. Those responsible for providing
healthcare locally are now responsible for making funds available to support
NICE appraisal guidance within 3 months.
(iv) Formal education is defined as one-to-one instruction or group
education courses for managing diabetes that lasted more than a single day
(i.e. multiple days)
(v) 94% said they had never attended formal education (survey conducted
by Research Plus on behalf of Roche Diagnostics)
(vi) Based on an independent online survey conducted by Research Plus on
behalf of Roche Diagnostics. A total of 872 UK Type 2 Diabetes Sufferers,
were surveyed between 14th- 18th May 2008
(vii) UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group. Lancet 1998; 352:
837-853
Source: Roche
For further information please contact: Hazel Clarke, External Communications Manager, Roche Diagnostics Ltd, Phone: +44(0)1444-256000, e.mail: hazel.clarke@roche.com
2008-05-26 19:02:45 0370122 PRNEWSWIRE