Diabetes education the Arab world. A call for action

ABSTRACT

Diabetes education is effective for improving clinical outcomes and quality of life. The barriers to patient education in the Arab World include Attitude of the administration and policy makers, the negative view of health professionals and patients towards education, lack of curriculum / programs, lack of trained/certified personnel in the field of Therapeutic Patient Education [TPE], economic barriers, misconcepts, environmental and ecological barriers, lack of legislation for food labels, lack of premises for TPE, the absence of a positive role for the patients in their therapeutic choices, unawareness of patients about their rights, lack of time for both the patient and health care providers and high prevalence of illiteracy. Strategic plans should address all these barriers. Content areas that need to be addressed are determined in collaboration with the patient. Any health care professional can provide diabetes education. The lack of trained personnel in the domain of TPE in our region dictates the need to fill this gap by adopting a strategic plan, implemented in successive steps, starting by the formation of a number of Health Care Professionals [HCPs] in short term training. This document is a call for action, inviting all who are concerned with diabetes to establish national diabetes programs in the Arab World, and to start to undertake educational initiatives