19 September 2011
Scottish expertise backs major diabetes programme in Kuwait
Scottish expertise in diabetes care and education is being used to deliver a major new education programme for health services in Kuwait.
The Masters programme in Diabetes Care and Education is the first major educational programme being delivered as a result of agreements signed last year between the University of Dundee, NHS Tayside, Aridhia Informatics, and the Dasman Diabetes Institute and the Ministry of Health in Kuwait.
Diabetes is a significant problem in Kuwait, where it has been estimated that up to 1 in 4 of the adult population suffers from the disease. This equates to almost 700,000 Kuwaitis.
The mission of the Dasman Diabetes Institute - which is based in Kuwait - is to prevent, control and mitigate the impact of diabetes in Kuwait through effective programmes of training and education.
The Scottish partners involved in the collaboration have world-renowned expertise in tackling the disease. Tayside is now internationally recognised as having arguably the best information and knowledge of a diabetes population anywhere in the world and the clinical network model developed in the region has consistently demonstrated improved outcomes for people with diabetes.
'The joint development of a programme that combines education, research and enhanced clinical care for patients with diabetes between Kuwait and Dundee is extremely exciting - it offers real prospect for innovation and quality enhancement that will be to the benefit of all partners in the enterprise,' said Professor John Connell, Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Dundee.
Professor Connell will help launch the new Masters programme at the Dasman Diabetes Institute on Monday September 19th.
The Masters in Diabetes Care and Education is aimed at all healthcare professionals in Kuwait and is designed to help them develop specialised knowledge of diabetes and provide them with educational and management training so they can communicate more effectively with colleagues and patients.
Approximately, 100 healthcare professionals representing the multifunctional medical team required to manage a chronic disease such as diabetes are enrolled in the programme.
The course is designed to be flexible with students choosing modules most relevant to their professional needs. To pass the course students are expected to apply classroom learning in a project designed to improve an aspect of their current job. In this manner the training received can have an immediate impact on healthcare provision to patients.
To support the students through their project the KHN Learning Zone has been launched as part of the Kuwait Health Network (KHN) informatics system. The Learning Zone provides the students with on-line educational support through the use of additional teaching material such as recorded lectures and discussion forums with their teachers.
The Learning Zone includes an Open Zone which is accessible to all healthcare professionals in Kuwait providing links to the latest news in Diabetes and clinical decision making tools. It is hoped the Learning Zone can become a useful and active forum to link health care professionals across Kuwait, sharing knowledge to enhance the speed of change.
Dr Kazem Behbehani, Director of the Dasman Diabetes Institute, announced another landmark for the collaboration - all primary health care clinics and hospitals in the capital region have now been linked to the Kuwait Health Network, bringing the benefits of an electronic health record to a population of 600,000 potential patients.
For more information on the KHN learning Zone, see: https://e.health.org.kw/learning/
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the University of Dundee
The University of Dundee has been hailed as a 'world-leading centre' for research into diabetes and is home to the Dundee Diabetes Research Centre, which hosts over 25 research teams engaged in diabetes research, ranging from the study of single molecules to complex clinical studies. The University has a top-rated medical school with research expanding from "the cell to the clinic to the community", while the College of Life Sciences is home to some of the world’s most cited scientists and home to 800 research staff from 60 different countries. See www.dundee.ac.uk for further details.
About NHS Tayside
NHS Tayside is responsible for meeting the health needs of nearly 397,000 people living in Tayside. They employ around 14,000 staff with an annual budget of more than £750 million which works out at around £2million spent on healthcare services every day.
NHS Tayside is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in many areas of healthcare working closely with the University of Dundee.
About Aridhia Informatics
Aridhia Informatics was formed as a unique joint venture in early 2008 with the National Health Service in Tayside, Scotland, the University of Dundee and Sumerian as partners and shareholders. Aridhia now employs a team recruited from both industrial and academic backgrounds. This combination of clinical know how, academic excellence together with extensive industrial experience in high performance computing provides unique insights into new approaches to health care delivery. www.aridhia.com
About Dasman Diabetes Institute
In pursuance to the wishes of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah the late Amir of the State of Kuwait (may he rest in peace) to present his people with a valuable and timeless gift, that would ensure their health for generations to come, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) financed the establishment of the Dasman Diabetes Institute aiming for it to become one of the leading institutions in the field of research in the Middle East.
On June 6th, 2006, His Highness the Amir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah inaugurated the world class Institute which sets the finest international standards of technology and facilities dedicated to research, training and prevention.
The Institute has a unique architectural design and occupies an area of 10,800 square meters. It is situated directly overlooking the Arabian Gulf Street and is surrounded by beautiful landscape that renders it more spectacular and distinguished. www.dasmaninstitute.org
About Ministry of Health in Kuwait
One of the largest ministries in Kuwait, the Ministry of Health was established in 1936. However, the history of healthcare in Kuwait is much older - dating back to 1912, when officials developed medical services for the citizens and residents of the country.At present, the healthcare network in Kuwait is the best in the Gulf region and among the finest in the world. Kuwaitis receive medical services at government clinics and hospitals free of charge. Public healthcare is maintained by an intricate network of primary and secondary health centres and specialised hospitals and research institutions.
Primary Health Centres
There are 72 primary health centres spread over the country. The services offered by them include general practitioner services and childcare, family medicine, maternity care, diabetes patient care, dentistry, preventive medical care, nursing care and pharmaceuticals.
Secondary Health Centres
Secondary healthcare services are provided by the six major hospitals: Sabah hospital, Amiri hospital, Adan hospital, Farwaniya hospital, Mubarak Al-Kabeer hospital and Jahra hospital.
The structure of each one of this hospital include a general hospital, a health centre, specialised clinics and dispensaries. The policy of each hospital is to provide the best possible healthcare to all citizens and residents.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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