The blue light is lit up throughout the Sultanate of Oman with the wali offices, Royal Opera House Muscat, Royal Hospital and Oman Diabetes Centre sporting the colour from Saturday night marking World Diabetes Day observed on November 14 every year.
The theme this year is Access to Diabetes Care. In the Sultanate of Oman, the government provides extensive and free care for the citizens.
“As diabetes is prevalent, the awareness message we are sending out is that we now need to focus on prevention, management and education for the public and health professionals to provide a comprehensive healthcare for diabetics to prevent complications and provide the patient a better quality of life,” said Dr Noor al Busaidy, chairperson of Oman Diabetes Association.
She said that diabetes care is for the patient, but in order to give the care to the patient we need to work together as a team so we are aware that diabetes management is not just one prescription. Instead, it is a multidisciplinary care approach as the need of the patient is beyond just medicine.
“Patients have a lot of questions. Diabetes is a lifelong disease. So if you are happy or sad or emotional the blood sugar level can fluctuate. It is the same if you are stressed or have a lack of sleep. They need someone from healthcare to answer their questions and support them. In the Sultanate of Oman, we want to provide comprehensive care and we need to focus on the three directions - prevention, management and delaying complications. We cannot just focus on prevention anymore we have to focus also on the management of diabetes,” pointed out Dr Noor.
So how do we lead a healthy life? And how can one move towards the transformation?
“You can lead a very healthy life when you decide that health is your top most priority. Then, managing diabetes is as simple as ABC. A nutritious diet, putting aside time for physical activity, being compliant to the treatment your doctor advises, equipping yourself with ample information related to diabetes are the necessary arrows in your quiver that will keep you fit as a fiddle,” said Dr Praveen Jeyapathy, Specialist Diabetologist, IMC Sugar Apollo.
However there are challenges in staying committed to lifestyle changes.
Dr Praveen lists out:
1) There are many challenges to diabetes care today. Firstly, in today’s busy world people find it very difficult to find time to incorporate exercise into their daily life. Secondly, healthy eating also seems very challenging to many when access to unhealthy food is not hard. Thirdly, as news is available at a touch of a button unscientific and false information also easily finds its way, which can often be misleading. Fourthly, when we discuss diabetes across the world access to proper care either due to unavailability of health care resources or due to financial reasons where tests and medications are unaffordable, there are millions who don’t get the care they need.
2) It’s true that many people with diabetes find it difficult to be engaged and committed to lifestyle changes. What inspires each of us to stay motivated may be different. It could be a person you know, a character you have read about, an event that struck you or simply your own decision. So the first thing to do is to find your inspiration. The next is being “FIRM” about it. So what’s “FIRM”? It is to have a few (F) selected goals, that are individualised (I) to your personality, realistic (R) in nature so there is a chance that you can achieve them and finally measurable (M) in terms of what you want to do. For example, for someone who is very busy in the office and has no time for exercise he/she can decide “ I will get out of my work desk and walk for 5 minutes every hour I am at work”. By doing this they would have clocked 40 minutes in an 8 hour shift. That is progress, isn’t it? They can build on that achievement. Small incremental changes are fine. Remember, these changes should become a part of who you are for life.
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