Shanghai initiates community-based diabetes prevention and control

Community-based service and education is the key for diabetes prevention and control, according to health officials from six cities participating in a diabetes management program, said in a roundtable conference in Shanghai on Thursday.

Officials and medical experts from Tianjin, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Beijing and Chongqing shared their work in diabetes prevention and control, and passed a proposal to enhance health education and disease management in the community for early detection and intervention.

Experts said community is the major place where diabetics can carry out self management and receive support. The community can provide an environment to cooperate with medical facilities, launch screening on highly risky residents and patient management, and improve the treatment rate and regular management for diabetic patients.

There are 537 million people with diabetes in the world, with an incidence of 10.5 percent. The quantity is expected to grow to 783 million in 2045. In China, the incidence is 11.9 percent, which means there is a diabetic among every nine adults.

Zhang Hao, vice director of Shanghai Health Commission, said Shanghai has established a comprehensive system on diabetes prevention and control. It has fully improved community-based health facilities and their ability for diabetes diagnosis and treatment, through detailed risk screening and classified patient management.

"In the next step, Shanghai will put forward a strategy of joint prevention and management on multiple chronic diseases to offer residents a full-process, regular and integrated chronic disease management service, as well as enhance the participation of the government, society, family and people to build a healthy city," he said.

Dr Jia Weiping, director of the management office of the national grassroots diabetes prevention and control, said the high prevalence of multiple chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes is an important health problem for China, imposing a serious impact on people's average life span and life quality.

"The public policy, disease prevention, healthy environment and life quality should be renovated and changed continuously to boost health," she said.

"We have introduced a wide community-based diabetes prevention and control network, as all the 240 neighborhood health centers have the ability for diabetes screening and clinical ability.

"So far, half of diabetes patients in Shanghai are receiving treatment and management in the community, which means people can receive convenient and regular service near their home."