Diabetes 360°: Advocacy continues for a national strategy to combat the epidemic

More than 13,000 Canadians have signed Diabetes Canada’s petition in support of a nationwide strategy to combat the diabetes epidemic in Canada. Another 4,500 sent letters to their government representatives last fall, and more than 30,000 emails of support were sent in just the last few weeks.

Despite growing support for a national strategy to combat diabetes, its petitioners reflect only a tiny fraction of the number of Canadians who will be affected. Successful implementation would mean 770,000 fewer cases of type 2 diabetes, 245,000 fewer hospitalizations, and 34,000 fewer leg amputations over the next seven years.

Along with health-care professionals and other Canadians affected by diabetes from across the country, Winnipeg resident Dustin Thorsten was part of the Diabetes 360° advisory panel. His personal experience convinced him of the urgent need for a coordinated cross-sector, intergovernmental, national diabetes plan.

When Mr. Thorsten had trouble sleeping because of pain in his lower legs, he went to a neighbourhood clinic, where he learned his blood glucose (sugar) was high. The doctor there sent him to his family doctor, where he went through two years of unsuccessful treatment for restless leg syndrome. Finally, he and his wife decided to find a new family doctor, and the new doctor ordered blood tests.

The next day, he got a call from an endocrinologist who insisted he come in, or an ambulance would be sent for him. He was diagnosed with diabetes; his blood sugar level was more than five times the maximum target range. He also had neuropathy, damage to the nerves caused by ongoing high blood sugar that often leads to infection and amputation. Two years later, his legs still hurt “all the time,” he says.

Mr. Thorsten became a Diabetes 360° advocate because he knows there is a solution, a strategy that all levels of government can support to improve screening. In the meantime, he says, “I’m hoping that people will get the message and get tested.”

Support for Diabetes 360° is growing at a governmental and grassroots level, says Kimberley Hanson, the initiative’s director and the executive director of Diabetes Canada. “The non-partisan federal Standing Committee on Health recommended that Diabetes 360° be implemented and given substantial, sustained funding. It’s also very important to Canadians. We did a recent survey that asked if people would be more likely to vote for a party that committed to a diabetes strategy – two-thirds said they would.”

Since the national launch of Diabetes 360° last year, the focus has moved on to implementation strategies for the provinces and territories. “We’re thrilled that the British Columbia Ministry of Health has committed to a provincial strategy based on Diabetes 360°, and we’ve had discussions with Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba,” says Ms. Hanson. “All three territories and seven of the provinces were represented at a recent national round table in Ottawa. So, we’re making meaningful progress at the provincial and territorial level.”

Diabetes 360° will mean better access to care wherever Canadians live, using virtual and telemedicine technology. Access to the Canadian Diabetes Prevention Program will help people with prediabetes prevent or delay the disease by up to 20 years.

“In just seven years, we anticipate that this strategy will save our health-care system and our economy $20-billion and cost only $150-million,” says Ms. Hanson. “It’s such an enormous problem that there is also an enormous opportunity to improve care.”

Until Diabetes 360° is implemented, unnecessary distress and expenditures will continue. Right now, it’s prohibitively expensive for many Canadians to follow the prescribed treatment protocol, says Ms. Hanson. “People who live in poverty or live with food insecurity are at much greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who don’t. When they develop it, they’re less able to treat it effectively, and they’re much more likely to develop its complications. Diabetes can cost people up to $15,000 out of pocket a year.”

Only a sweeping approach can address the health-care inequaities found across the country, she stresses.

“With a national framework, we can zero in on these critical gaps and work to close them, which will help improve the health of all Canadians.”

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