A community‐based approach for the self‐management of diabetes

The ability to self‐manage one's diabetes is challenged by the limited availability of clinic‐based resources. This paper seeks to describe and determine the impact of Diabetes Hamilton (DH), a novel, voluntary, community‐based programme in Hamilton, Ontario, that aims to facilitate self‐management behaviours by supplementing existing resources. DH registrants who completed a baseline questionnaire from February 2000 to March 2007 were included in the cross‐sectional survey (n=3161). A total of 2994 individuals were also included in the trend analysis, examining the impact of DH on self‐management behaviours. Half of DH registrants are female (51.2%), with a mean BMI of 30.8 (SD 7.5), a mean age of 61.6 years (SD 14.6) and a mean age of 48.6 years at diagnosis (SD 16.7). A third of registrants reported insulin use (33.4%) and >90% reported having had an annual blood pressure and cholesterol test respectively. Trend analysis of behaviours showed an increase in cholesterol screening ( p<0.00), diabetes provider visits ( p<0.00), and medication use for glycaemic control and vascular protection ( p<0.02). Although DH reaches motivated, well‐educated individuals in the community, some diabetes self‐management behaviours improved. Strategies to engage greater public participation across various demographics (e.g. ethnicity, education, age) are ongoing. Copyright © 2011 FEND. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.