Bass Coast Health (BCH) has joined the world-wide movement to end stigma and discrimination around diabetes.
On World Diabetes Day on 14 November, BCH CEO Jan Child signed the organisation to the ‘International consensus and pledge to end diabetes stigma and discrimination’.
BCH specialist Diabetes Educator Claire Gatto said ‘diabetes stigma and discrimination’ refers to the negative social judgments, stereotypes and prejudices that still unfairly affect people with diabetes all over the world.
“Up to one in three people with diabetes have been discriminated against due to their diabetes. Diabetes stigma and discrimination can affect the mental health of people with diabetes and become a barrier preventing access to diabetes care,” she said.
World Diabetes Day is marked on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting who, with Charles Best, discovered insulin in 1922. The international consensus includes the use of accurate, respectful, inclusive and non-judgmental language.
“For example, instead of talking about ‘a diabetic’, we should say ‘a person with diabetes’ because there is much more to a person than the fact they have diabetes,” Claire said.
BCH invites the community to sign the pledge via the enddiabetesstigma.org website.
BCH provides a variety of diabetes education services to help people with diabetes live as fulfilling lives as possible.
Our Diabetes Education service offers support for a range of diabetes and pre-diabetes related conditions.
These include:
• Management of type 1, type 2, gestational diabetes and pre-diabetes
• Lifestyle changes
• Blood glucose monitoring and interpretation of blood glucose levels related to food, physical activity and medication
• Management of unstable blood glucose levels
• Changes in medications and/or beginning insulin or other injectable diabetes medications
• Use of new glucose monitoring technologies
• Prevention and management of diabetes complications
• Travel advice.
To learn more, go to basscoasthealth.org.au/diabetes