Diabetes and its complications cost the Canadian health care system an estimated $13.2 billion… By 2010… the associated costs on the health care system will [be] more than $15.6 billion a year…

 

Diabetes is a contributing factor in the deaths of approximately 45,000 Canadians each year. Canadian adults with diabetes are twice as likely to die prematurely, compared to persons without diabetes. In fact, one in two people with type 2 diabetes does not have their blood sugar under control. This is a clear sign that better management of diabetes is needed to achieve improved targets.

 

Canadian Diabetes association website, www.diabetes.ca

 

Diabetes is expensive, whether measured in dollars, or lives lost, or quality of life foregone. Clearly there is a significant gap between our well-established medical knowledge of this disease and our appetite for detecting and managing it. How might employers help? The two major avenues are screening and programming.

 

Screening

The objective of screening clinics is to catch emerging and even full-blown health problems that would otherwise go undetected.

 

Clinics would typically be a half or full day, and be staffed by one or more Registered Nurses. Screening most often occurs for more than one condition, for example, diabetes and heart disease, because the two conditions very often co-exist. Each person is at the clinic for 20-30 minutes. Measurements include blood glucose, blood pressure, waist circumference, body fat, cholesterol, and weight. Additional measures could also occur, such as A1C levels for suspected diabetics. Counseling follows for certain individuals. Typically, about one-third of employees who are invited to attend actually appear.

 

Clinics allow employees to get easy access to something that would otherwise require at least two offsite medical appointments and a half-day or longer absence from the workplace. The cost of a clinic is reasonable in light of other avoided health-related costs.

 

Programs

Diabetes management programs may be funded by provincial and federal governments, regional health authorities, local health units, and sometimes by pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy chains, and employers themselves.

 

Of course, knowledge is just the start, and modifying behaviour is the real key to success in changing health practices and the course of diabetes or any other disease.

 

In smaller communities or for smaller companies, several organizations could band together to offer screening or even diabetes management programs. These activities might be an ideal role for a local Chamber of Commerce, which could lower the per capita cost and spread it over a much wider base and establish a convenient, central location. A local hospital or medical clinic could also be a willing partner.

 

Ideas

So, let’s say you wanted to introduce a diabetes program in your workplace. Where would you go for help, and for solid, well-researched programs? Here are a few places to start:

 

In the end, don’t forget to evaluate your program, through brief questionnaires or surveys of both participants (Did they find it worthwhile?) and non-participants (Why did they not participate?). This allows your organization to learn how to improve future efforts for the benefit of employees and the good name of your organization.

 

Many theories apply, but all contain these three essential elements, according to a review by The Health Communication Unit (L. Hershfield, et al, 2004, available at www.thcu.ca):