Calabarzon medical workers train on proper injection of insulin

MANILA -- As the cheapest and fastest means to keep blood glucose level normal, the Department of Health (DOH) Center for Health Development (CHD) in Region IV-A (Calabarzon) conducted training on diabetes management using insulin among doctors and nurses in the region.

In an interview Tuesday, Dr. Marilou R. Espiritu, DOH-Calabarzon Medical Officer III and head of the Non-Communicable Disease Cluster, said the training was conducted in Pasay City in support of the DOH's Insulin Access Program (IAP) which falls under the Medicine Access Program (MAP) aimed at making medicine accessible for diabetic patients.

The IAP program is in line with Millennium Development Goal No. 8 which aims to develop a global partnership for development, where partner pharmaceutical companies participate by providing access to affordable insulin products through the consignment system, the implementation of which was started in 2009.

The two-day training included "self-injection" where participants were asked to demonstrate, from the minute a patient approaches them until the insulin is administered to the patient, whether through a syringe or a pen-type injection.

"This is not just to test if they know the procedure from the minute a patient comes in, but also to create empathy among patients," Espiritu said.

The event, done in partnership with Philippine Society of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism (PSEDM), is meant to equip the 'first line' responders, or the health workers in Rural Health Units (RHUs), on what to do to avoid delays in the treatment and help control the steady rise of diabetes prevalence from 5.4 percent (in a PSEDM study in 2013) to 6.7 percent (per latest World Health Organization data), according to endocrinologist Dr. Patrick Siy.

"Sadly, in the Western Pacific Region, we have the most number of prevalence, and we now see young patients, who are in their childhood/teens because we have more fast-food outlets now, and less people exercise," Siy said.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), commonly referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period and if left untreated, can cause many complications.

Symptoms of high blood sugar include frequent urination and increased thirst and hunger.

It has two types-- type 1, an autoimmune condition, which begins in childhood and type 2 or the milder form is hereditary in nature and lifestyle-based.

After the batch of doctors and nurses in the RHUs, the DOH will conduct similar trainings in the country's district hospitals. (PNA)

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