July 2010

Changes to Life! eligibility criteria

From 1 July 2010 the eligibility criteria for participation in the Life! program was updated as follows:

• AUSDRISK high risk score reduced to 12 and above.
• All adults (aged 18+) with ischemic heart disease or gestational diabetes are eligible to enrol regardless of their AUSDRISK score.

The database developments incorporate these eligibility criteria changes with updated resources available soon.

More detailed information was distributed to all Life! facilitators on 29 June.

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First Visits – A facilitator’s perspective

Since its inception a few weeks ago, nearly 100 facilitators have indicated their interest in conducting First Visits. Matt Shanks of Equip4Life (pictured), has taken the time to share his experiences with the First Visit initiative to more effectively recruit participants for his Life! courses.

Prior to the First Visit initiative, Matt says that he was “spending long hours trying to recruit participants with limited opportunities to consult them effectively”.

“The time I spent recruiting participants was not reimbursed. I was unable to commit long hours to this process [which] lead to low levels of recruits, less groups and reduced numbers of participants.”

“Since commencing the First Visit strategy, I have been able to commit many more hours as well as effective consultations to recruit, encourage and motivate participants to join groups with the view to complete the program.”

Matt’s strategies for promoting First Visits

Consulting privately as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, Matt already has established relationships with local GPs. He also has the “flexibility for extended consultations” and can perform the First Visit in addition to his initial assessment to enhance recruits for the Life! program.

Matt also phones former clients to conduct a First Visit via telephone which allows him to promote the Life! program and discuss how it would benefit goals that the client may have previously set, or any new goals that clients now have.

Matt has found “people are reacting much more positively [to the First Visits] than they were to my more rushed and less goal-oriented focused recruiting methods previously used".

How successful have First Visits been for Matt so far?

“I have recruited almost three times as many participants in the past six weeks as I did in the previous 12 weeks. I now have other facilitators running groups for me due to a growing demand,” Matt says.

Retention has also appeared to increase since using First Visits to recruit participants as you can establish a rapport with participants which can improve their desire to return.

Matt’s hot tips for facilitators conducting First Visits:

• Be confident in the message you are trying to get across to high risk clients.
• Reinforce the fact that they are at high risk of developing not only diabetes, but other metabolic and cardiovascular based conditions, and that this risk will increase until they take action.
• Reinforce the seriousness of type 2 diabetes and refer to the TV advertisement campaign of the lady who has experienced lower limb amputation getting out of the pool.
• Reinforce the point that the lifestyle tools required to improve blood pressure and cholesterol are covered in this program, and that it is their best option to prevent medication reliance.
• Know the Life! program well, and [where appropriate] use scientific researched-based articles to show people how lifestyle changes are the most effective way to improve their health and prevent diabetes.
• Use each First Visit to gauge which methods potential participants respond to most positively in terms of achieving recruits for group sessions. 
• Adapt your consultation so the individual finds value in the group sessions in meeting their individual goals.

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A First Visit reminder

An email was recently distributed to 86 facilitators who have expressed interest in conducting First Visits. This email detailed First Visit background information, data requirements, how to record information and the invoicing process.

If you are one of the remaining 37 Life! facilitators who are yet to open the email, please take the time to do so. The aim of the email is to provide you with further information regarding the process and requirements associated with conducting a First Visit.

If your First Visit participant has requested Telephone Health Coaching (THC), a good practice would be to note on the referral form if the participant has indicated a date and time preference for being contacted. This will ensure that the participant is contacted promptly and at a time when they are available.

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Database developments

A number of changes to the Facilitator database were scheduled to be implemented by the end of June. Details of changes that you may notice the next time you login are listed below.

Important Information area
A new area seen when logging into the database used to convey important information to you. Tips to help promote a smooth experience with data control will also be placed here.

First Visits (note, only accessible if you have registered interest in conducting First Visits):

• Participant records now have a First Visit tick box. Only tick this box if the participant is doing a First Visit session with you.
• If the First Visit tick box is ticked on a participant record, the database will prompt you for the scheduled First Visit date.
• Participants ticked as First Visit will have a First Visits session data section in the left-hand navigation pane. Enter specific information collected via First Visit here. Note: The participated flag and healthy goals section are required to invoice for First Visits.
• The First Visits session page includes a First Visit status dropdown menu to identify the outcome of the First Visit.

Do you facilitate for multiple organisations?
The database now has the capacity to allow you to belong to multiple organisations under the one login (with some exceptions).

General updates to participant records 

• Notes section: Important notes can now be added. Please keep these brief and in dot-point form.
• GP info: The fax number of the participant's GP can now be recorded. 
• Diabetes status: A dropdown field for recording diabetes status (including exclusion) has been added. 
• Non-attendance reason: Text box to record a brief reason for non-attendance at a session.

Updates with invoicing:

• First Visits: Automated invoices can be raised on the database in a similar manner to automated group invoices. Raising a First Visit invoice is based on completion of participant details, referral details and data in the First Visit session section.
• GST Registration: The database will now recognise if your organisation is GST registered or not (please indicate if you are not) and raise invoices accordingly.

Update to groups page:

• Group type identification: Avoid the reliance on keywords/prefixes in group names by selecting the correct group type.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Andrew, Life! Data Coordinator, on ALambert@diabetesvic.org.au or 03 9667 1703.

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Social marketing update

Complemented by radio and print advertisements, the Don’t be the Type to Leave it too Late commercial (MPG 1.8MB) has been airing across networks Seven, Nine, Ten, Seven Two and SBS since 23 May during high rating shows such as Masterchef, Australia’s Got Talent and The Pacific.

The 13 RISK number has received 542 calls over the past three weeks in response, with 270 actively being followed up by Central Referral staff to facilitate entry into Life!. To date, seven of these callers have since enrolled in a Life! course.

Compared with the period prior to this round of advertising, expressions of interest in Life! have increased by 260%! 

Another three-week round of television, radio and newspaper advertising due to commence on 5 July. Please refer the Events section to the left for exact dates.

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Help participants to achieve their personal best!

Ride Away from Diabetes is a unique opportunity for participants or graduates of a Life! Taking Action on Diabetes course to improve their fitness and wellbeing whilst accomplishing a huge personal achievement – completing the Great Victorian Bike Ride!

The successful applicants will be supported in their preparation and participate as a team in the Great Victorian Bike Ride in a fun and supportive environment.

See the Ride Away from Diabetes webpage for further details.

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Life! facts and figures

A total of 124 health agencies are currently accredited as providers of the Life! course. The largest provider category is the Hospital, Health Service or Community Health Centre, making up 41.2% (52).

To date active providers have commenced a total of 409 groups, each with an average of 6.8 participants per group. Of the 3,087 referrals to these providers, 2,808 of which have since commenced a Life! course.

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