Achievements

Diabetes Unit

Established the diabetes unit at Al-Sabah hospital on 1996, with the main goal of improving the quality of diabetes care. The main strategies included building a team, providing the management based on clinical practice guidelines and a structured care, implementing the international standards of diabetes care, using diabetes technology (insulin pump and sensor), auditing and evaluation of services for further improvement. The key achievements included:

• Identifying the prevalence of diabetes complications and associated risk factors.
• Analysing the reasons for hospitalizations among adolescents, adults, and elderly with diabetes.
• Auditing the quality of diabetes care and identifying the patients' factors (including emotional distress) that have an influence on diabetes processes and outcomes.
• Setting up an insulin pump clinic: insulin pump therapy is provided for patients with type 1 diabetes after completing carbohydrate counting sessions, and training on the use of insulin pump.
• Establishment of a transition clinic for adolescents with type 1 diabetes, and identifying the main determinants of poor glycemic control.
• Implementation of diabetes self-management education program
• Improvement of diabetes outcomes (glycemic control, dyslipidemia, and diabetes complications) and reduction of hospital stay for patients admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis to 2.79 days.

Kuwait Diabetes Primary Care Program

Kuwait Diabetes Primary Care Program was established on 1999 with the primary goal to improve diabetes services at the primary care level and to reduce the variations between the practices. The key strategies set to achieve this goal included:

• Development and distribution of diabetes clinical practice guidelines.
• Conducting training sessions for primary care physicians.
• Implementation of standards of diabetes care.
• Monitoring and evaluation of diabetes services.
• Contribution to patients' education.
• Ensuring that all the diabetes manpower team, the necessary medications and equipment are available in the practice.
• Providing a policy for appointment system and developing an Initiative for a national diabetes registry: which are necessary for improving the quality of care, and achieving better diabetes processes and outcomes.
• Conducting studies that contribute to improvement in diabetes services.

The key achievements were:

• Development and distribution of diabetes clinical practice guidelines (first version was published on 2001 and second version published on 2012).
• Conduction of several training courses and seminars for primary care physicians working at the diabetes mini-clinics, including workshops on diabetic retinopathy and training on the use of fundus cameras.
• Introduction of structured visit sheets for initial, regular, and annual review visits.
• Auditing the implementation of diabetes standards of care that showed improvement in diabetes processes and outcomes: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18059095.
• Conducting training courses for the nursing staff on 2005 and 2006: https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1539145&language=ar
• Participating in World Diabetes Days and conducting patients' education sessions, covering several topics on diabetes:

1. Diabetes and heart disease: https://www.annaharkw.com/annahar/Article.aspx?id=103229&date=30102008

2. Diabetes and foot care: https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/kuwait-news/health/111881/10-05-2010

3. Prevention and control of diabetes: https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/kuwait-news/health/148829/07-11-2010

4. Diabetes and Dental disease: https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/kuwait-news/health/190113/24-04-2011-

• Publication of a book on how to live well with diabetes: The book guides the patients with the key steps to managing diabetes.
• Publication of several educational posters: topics covered understanding diabetes, prevention of diabetes, fasting Ramadan, exercise and diabetes, blood glucose self-monitoring, and foot care.
• Launching a website on 2009 for the diabetes care program that would contribute to raising health awareness among individuals with diabetes, as well as, providing the medical staff with updates on diabetes: https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1461715570544992500/amp
• Monitoring and improving the use of electronic health record system: to collect input data, create database and national diabetes registry, monitor the implementation of the standards of care with reminders, and to assist the healthcare providers in identifying the patients at risk of developing diabetes complications.
• Conducted research to improve diabetes services. The topics included:

1. Auditing the implementation of the standards of diabetes care and identifying the variations in practice:
2. Evaluating the impact of the training courses and diabetes clinical practice guidelines on the knowledge and attitude of primary care physicians.
3. Identifying the prevalence of risk factors among individuals with newly diagnosed diabetes.
4. identifying the smoking habits among individuals with newly diagnosed diabetes.
5. Studying the attitude of physicians providing diabetes care towards the use of electronic medical record system in primary care and identifying the barriers in system implementation.