What is Structured Education and why is it important?
Managing diabetes day-to-day can be difficult. Diabetes education courses, often known as structured education, help people to obtain the knowledge and skills to manage their condition, to live well, and to avoid complications.
Whether you are newly diagnosed, or have been living with diabetes for a while, attending a course can really help with understanding how diabetes affects the body and to learn individual self-management techniques which helps you to incorporate diabetes in your normal life, instead of living your life around your diabetes.
Did you know there are free and easily accessible education courses being provided locally?
The Specialist Diabetes team at the Trust delivers the DAFNE education course for people with Type 1 Diabetes, and the Diabetes Today course for people with Type 2 Diabetes.
What is DAFNE?
DAFNE stands for Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating, and is a Nationally Accredited Gold Standard education programme for people with Type 1 diabetes. The course is split five full days (usually over 5 weeks). It can also be delivered virtually in smaller chunks of time over five days enabling you to participate remotely.
DAFNE has a solid evidence base for improving outcomes. The course is recommended as an essential part of routine Type 1 care, and teaches participants the skills required to live well with diabetes and to incorporate diabetes into normal life, including topics such as lifestyle choices, food choices, exercise and a whole lot more. By the end of the course all participants will be able to calculate the right insulin dose for each meal, meaning unrestricted food choices and well controlled blood glucose levels.
The courses are facilitated in a friendly small group setting, where participants spend time with people living with the same condition, and highly knowledgeable Diabetes Nurses and Dietitians. There is also the opportunity to continue to experience the benefits of providing and receiving peer support, via the DAFNE graduates network and online forum. Participants are also invited to a follow up DAFNE session, where they can consolidate their learning, share their experiences after the course, and have a further opportunity to ask questions.
Feedback from DAFNE graduates are always overwhelmingly positive, with many participants finishing the course with increased confidence and the feeling that the course has made a big impact on their lives.
“My bottom line in life is to function and DAFNE gives me that ability. For me, it is not a diabetic treatment initiative, it is my life. It informs my hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly decisions; continually improving my health and my contribution to life.”
DAFNE have also brought out an online module called ‘DAFNE Hybrid Closed Loop Essentials’ specifically for those moving towards getting an insulin pump and using Hybrid Closed Loop technology.
What is Diabetes Today?
Diabetes Today is a locally designed structured education programme for people with Type 2 Diabetes. It was originally developed by South Tees NHS Foundation Trust and has been adopted by Harrogate to deliver in our local area. The course is evidence-based and QISMET accredited. The course is 2 x 2 hours of learning and is split over 2 days.
The course covers topics including food and lifestyle choices, remission, and medications, and equips participants with the skills and knowledge to manage their diabetes and incorporate their condition into normal life. The courses are facilitated in a group setting, where participants have the support of people living with the same condition, and is delivered by a Specialist Diabetes Dietitian and a Practice Nurse.
Referral criteria: diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes within the last 12 months.
For both DAFNE and Diabetes Today, you can be referred by your GP, Practice Nurse or Healthcare Team.
Get in touch
If you are interested in either the DAFNE or Diabetes Today course and would like more information, or if you have attended a course already and would like to provide us with your feedback, please contact the Structured Education Programme Co-Ordinator, on 01423 557799 and leave a message.