Dubai, UAE 8th November 2015 – to coincide with World Diabetes Day Boehringer Ingelheim – one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies – has launched the ‘Shape the Dialogue’ campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of quality early conversations between people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and healthcare providers at the start of the diabetes treatment journey.
The campaign has been developed in response to new data from the international IntroDiaTM Survey that asked more than 10,000 patients and 6,700 physicians about doctor–patient dialogue. The vast majority (88%) of physicians agreed that conversations at diagnosis are crucial as they impact the way people with T2D accept their condition and their adherence to treatment. From the patient perspective those who recalled better quality of communication with their physician reported improved self-care and emotional well-being, including improved diabetes-related emotional distress, increased frequency of exercise and diet, as well as better medication adherence.1
The topic of patient–physician dialogue was addressed at the recent Middle East, Turkey and Africa Regional Interchange on Diabetes on Nov 6-7th, 2015: an annual event hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim that brings together close to 300 diabetes experts to discuss pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to diabetes management.
The latest figures from the International Diabetes Federation show that almost 37 million people in the MENA region have diabetes, and that the disease claimed 363,000 lives in 2014.2 Egypt alone has over 7.5 million people with diabetes.2 In the UAE nearly one-in-five adults and children are living with diabetes,3 with the incidence rate rapidly increasing. T2D – the most common form – is a challenging condition for both patients and healthcare professionals that requires lifelong management encompassing medication and lifestyle interventions, attention to psychological well-being, and on-going patient education and support.
“Type-2 diabetes places a great burden on patients, who have to undergo considerable psychological and behavioural adjustment at diagnosis and throughout the course of the disease,” Dr Nermin Sherieba, Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ain Shams University, Egypt said. “Since diabetes is a self-managed condition, patients must learn how to balance a variety of factors including medication, diet, and physical activity to ensure the best outcome.”
Because effective T2D care requires these behaviours to be maintained over the long term, self-care is a constant challenge and negative attitudes and emotions such as fear, anxiety, guilt and depression are common, Dr Sherieba added.
Dr Nawal Motawa, Consultant Endocrinologist, Ministry of Health, Al Qasimi Hospital, UAE, welcomed the move to improve patient–physician dialogue and hoped it would lead to better diabetes control for many patients. “Even though effective medication is available, a substantial proportion of patients’ diabetes remains uncontrolled, which can lead to serious health issues such as kidney and cardiovascular problems,” Dr Motawa explained.
“First and foremost Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving patient outcomes,” said Karim El Alaoui, Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim META. “And that’s what IntroDiaTM and Shape the Dialogue is all about – focusing on improving the quality of conversations at critical points along the patient journey,” he said.“Leveraging the survey insights we aim to improve the quality of early patient–healthcare professional conversations and promote successful disease management for people with diabetes here in the Middle East and beyond,” Mr El Alaoui said.
Dr Motawa said, “For many, being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is a stressful and worrying time. People may be anxious because they don’t understand what type 2 diabetes is, or how they will cope. The IntroDiaTM results suggest that health professionals can help patients accept and embrace effective diabetes management strategies from the start – just by choosing the right words.”
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