Roche Diagnostics to launch diabetes education program tailor-made to Middle East at Arab Health 2006

The program, based on the world-renowned Berger program created by acclaimed German diabetologist Dr Michael Berger, and adapted for the Arab world via a collaborative effort between Roche and the American University of Beirut, offers the most comprehensive, step-by-step education process for people with diabetes.

Representatives from Roche Diagnostics, who announced steps to transform the international initiative to a regional audience at Arab Health 2005, are confident that the program's international success will be replicated in the region.

"Roche is extremely proud to offer the specially adapted 'Accu-Chek Diabetes Education Program' to regions in the Middle East," Dr. Mohammed Jawad, Managing Director, Roche Diagnostics, said prior to the program launch. "The program is an important step in improving the management of diabetes, and reflects our ongoing commitment to educating people with diabetes so that they may lead more spontaneous and fulfilled lives."

Roche's 'Accu-Chek Diabetes Education Program' addresses the specific needs of Middle Eastern patients with four therapy modules: therapy without insulin, conventional insulin therapy, pre-prandial insulin therapy and intensified insulin therapy. Each module includes specific patient and educator components such as teaching guides, teacher's notes, flip charts, questionnaires, patient books, logs and original sized colour pictures of various food plates.

To ensure that Middle Eastern patients relate optimally to the program, the Roche-AUB team's specialist dieticians and nutritionists replaced the more than 150 photos of Western food plates and their respective carbohydrate counts with their Middle Eastern equivalent.

The Arabisation of the Roche program also includes the training of nurses in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Region, the installation of a balanced train-the-trainer course, assistance with program implementation and the sponsoring of user meetings to encourage the exchange of personal experiences.

The program will be rolled out throughout the region in the first three quarters of 2006, starting with a roll out in the Gulf States in the first quarter; a Levant-wide rollout in the second quarter; and implementation in Egypt, Libya and the Maghreb countries in the third quarter.

The program is seen as one of the most important ways to ward off the pending epidemic of diabetes in the region.

In 2000 alone an estimated nine million affected persons were recorded in the Middle East, which positions the region as one of the most widely affected in the world. This number is expected to cross 25 million by 2030. Education and training for people with diabetes, their family and caregivers are key elements in the effective management of diabetes.

Early education and identification of diabetic conditions drastically improves the clinical and metabolic outcomes, therefore helping to reduce the likelihood of late complications of diabetes. It also reduces the long-term costs of care and optimizes human and financial resources more effectively.