October 2010

New Life! Participant Workbook available from 1 October 2010

The new Life! Participant Workbook is officially launched on 1 October 2010. A new Session Instructions For Facilitators manual is also being developed to accompany the participant workbook.

To go over the updated material, existing facilitators were invited to attend one of the Participant Workbook Training sessions, to be held during the afternoon of Friday 1 October and the evening of Monday 4 October.

Please note:

Any old Participant Manuals that you have in your possession need to be used before using the new Participant Workbooks and all participants in your group must use the same manual/workbook as the course structure varies between the two. Change over will be phased over the next few months.

If you have 5 or more manuals in stock then you must use these for your next group - these are in stock so will be able to supply for all participants in group. If 4 or less, please return old manuals to DA–Vic and start next group with new workbooks.

If you do not use or return old manuals you will be charged for them.

If you have any questions regarding this, please contact Kate on KDelley@diabetesvic.org.au

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Update to Facilitator Database

A new release of the Facilitator Database will be published on 4 October 2010

This version aims to rectify some bugs, simplify the First Visit process and includes a new look and feel to the entry forms assisting with the flow of data entry which will also allow you to specify what type of First Visit was performed.

You can find a full list of the latest database changes here.

If you have any queries relating to this, please contact Andrew on 03 9667 1703 or ALambert@diabetesvic.org.au

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Maximising recruitment at local events – case study

Face-to-face recruitment continually proves to be a successful strategy with local events presenting ideal opportunities to maximise your recruitment.

Bridie Shiels, Life! facilitator at Sportscare Physiotherapy in Dingley, shares with us her experience of promoting Life! at Noble Park RSL as part of the Veteran Affairs celebration of Healthy Eating week.

Presenting to the 100 members and guests of Noble Park RSL, Bridie discussed the increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the community, the AUSDRISK tool and the risk factors associated with development of the disease.

Of these 100, only nine people already had diagnosed diabetes and about 60 First Visits were generated. These resulted in two Life! course groups of 10 participants each.

Bridie reflects that these participants “have been loyal participants to the course, possibly because some of them already knew each other therefore the social aspect played a part".

Bridie attributes the success of this day to: 

• presenting to a fairly active, elderly group who would normally gather anyway and
• having the AUSDRisk tool, tape measures, scales and pens readily available.

Bridie’s tips for addressing a large group: 

• Have a prepared presentation that informs about the disease and promotes the Life! course.
• Have several facilitators available to answer questions, weigh and measure, and handle paperwork.
• Clearly establish that the course is directed towards prevention, so people with diabetes are ineligible.
• Obtain some free resources from the Life! office to hand out as showbags.

Promoting your Life! course:

If you identify any opportunities to promote Life! locally and would like to include this in our events listing, please let us know on lifeteam@diabetesvic.org.au  

Remember, funding for such promotion can be obtained provided it is linked to raising awareness of the Life! program and ultimately lead to referrals for those 50 years and older into Life! courses. Evidence of this should be supplied for funding approval.

To receive funding assistance we need to attain: 

• clear costs
• objectives 
• measurable outcomes.

Resources, adverts and posters that can be tailored to your locality, as well as a resource order, are available from our website.

For further ideas that work to recruit for your course, please contact us on 03 8648 1880 or email life@diabetesvic.org.au

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First Visit recruitment – what works for you?

Just a reminder that we’d like to know how you go about recruiting participants for First Visits.

Please click here to complete a 5 minute survey on the methods you have found most successful and any strategies you’d like to see the Life! team undertake to promote First Visits to the general public.

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Diabetes prevention in the rural practice: Debbie’s case

Last month Kim Laffin, Community Health Nurse at East Wimmera Health Service, shared her success with running the Life! program in a rural setting.

Key to her success was the engagement of Debbie, the Charlton Medical Centre (CMC) Practice Nurse since May 2010. Debbie has shared with us how she has instilled diabetes prevention within her practice.

Debbie’s background

Debbie originally came from work in an acute setting and has seen first hand the consequences of uncontrolled diabetes and the complications it causes. The week that she commenced her practice nurse role, the practice signed onto the Life! Case Finding Funding agreement where practice receive funding for every fifteen referrals they make to the Life! program.

Debbie’s practice

Dr Webb, Debbie’s principal GP, is very proactive in the early detection of chronic disease and has an established system in doing annual comprehensive health screens on his patients. During this assessment the patient is run through the AUSDRisk tool and added to their Life! referral excel database. Debbie checks results against the database weekly and completes the referral, noting if the patient has been recalled for a GTT.

Each fortnight, CMC conducts a Continuous Quality Improvement meeting to map out a flow chart to manage their clients who were at risk of type 2 diabetes and design a plan of action for referral into diabetes prevention, including the Life! program. This has ensured simplification of the process over time.

Putting it into action and promotional activities

On a typical day, Debbie can see up to 16 patients. Working effectively as a team is very important and the doctors and everyone at the clinic is very supportive of the Life! program. Murray Plains Division of General Practice has also added much needed support and information needed for the diabetes prevention programs.

In Charlton’s joined up strategy to prevention of type 2 diabetes, awareness is raised by displaying posters on diabetes prevention in CMC’s waiting room and at local shops. Next on the agenda is to place an article in the local news publication.

To further improve her understanding of the Life! program and effectively identify eligible people, Debbie has worked intensively with Kim Laffin.

Developing local networks with your division and practices, including a local referral pathway, are strategies that have shown to be successful for increasing program referrals. If you haven’t already, consider getting in touch with your local division and practices to engage their assistance with type 2 diabetes prevention.

Further about your local division can be obtained by contacting Melissa Cook at GPV on M.Cook@gpv.org.au or phone on 03 9341 5247.

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Life! Telephone Health Coaching (THC) – more convenient for some participants

Not everyone who is at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes is able to attend a Life! course, but that doesn’t mean they should miss out.

Take 62 year old Brenda Davenport. She says, “I couldn’t see myself going to something like that (a course).” THC suited Brenda much better.

“I’m always saying I’ll to do this, I’ll go swimming, I’ll go and do that, but I’m always tired by the end of the day, and I don’t feel like doing anything. Where as I could just sit in my chair and talk to Mark (her diabetes prevention health coach).”

As profiled in last month’s Life!Style newsletter, Telephone health coaches are people trained specifically in health coaching for diabetes prevention. They call the participant at home, at a time that suits them, and work with them to achieve their goals and stay motivated.

Brenda says, “I kind of knew what I needed to do, but it was a big muddle. Mark just centred all of that, and redirected my focus to actually achieving it” and that THC “probably stopped me from getting diabetes.”

Regular follow-up calls from her coach helped motivate Brenda and kept her on track.

Now she’s exercising regularly, eating well and has lots more energy. Brenda has lost 5kg and 4cm around her waist, thus reducing her risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
 

Note: 

The Life! group course still has the strongest evidence base and is the first option offered to participants. Telephone based support is offered only if the client cannot (or does not want to) attend a course.

However, the Life! TCH is may be an ideal option for people who live in rural areas, work shifts or have other commitments that make it difficult for them to attend a course.
 

Do you have participants who are more suited to THC than a Life! course?

Please record this on the referral and forward to Central Referral by fax on 03 9667 1757 or contact via email on life@diabetesvic.org.au 

Any enquiries about THC should be directed to Theresa at Kinect on 03 8320 0127 or twhalen@kinectaustralia.org.au

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We can help you spring clean!

When you are cleaning out your cupboards, remember that our Clothing Collection Crew will come to you to collect all of your pre-loved clothes and household items. All proceeds from the sale of items fund programs for people with diabetes.

Call 03 9923 8400 for collection of clothing & household items and visit our website for more information.

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