A survey was carried out by the IDF Diabetes Education Consultative Section (DECS) in 2002 to gain an understanding of diabetes educational practices around the world. The consultative section recognized that this survey served as a crude methodology in capturing data and information; however it did offer the first opportunity to gain a baseline understanding of practices and concerns. It is hoped that this attempt and its findings will pique continued interest in diabetes education efforts and the development of future tracking, reporting and intervention efforts. A summary of the survey findings are presented in the e-Atlas.
There are several limitations to the interpretation of the summary of results based on challenges inherent in the information gathered through the survey. Although all IDF member associations received the survey forms, response rates varied. Some regions, such as Europe and Western Pacific, had a high number of responses while other regions had a lower participation. This could be reflective of the make-up of a particular region. For example, the Western Pacific represented 19 member associations with many smaller islands, while South-East Asia with a large population affected by diabetes had only five member associations.
Each of the regions had a diverse group of member countries that varied in size, population, culture, healthcare practices and socio-economics. For example, the North American Region included large developed countries such as Canada and the United States, and developing countries such as Mexico and the small Caribbean islands.
Despite the apparent limitations consistent themes were reported that need to be addressed as the global prevalence of diabetes grow. From the survey it appears that although some countries do have national health programmes that include attention to diabetes education others do not. All the regions reported poor funding for education.
There were recurrent themes for potential solutions, which should be considered. For the prevention and treatment of diabetes to be successful through educational initiatives, governments, and local, national and international health associations need to organize efforts to promote the training, financial support, access and public awareness of diabetes education.