Abstract
Background - Diabetes is a demanding disease that requires people to be empowered to self-manage their treatment. To address this need, APDP has developed the House of Diabetes (Casa da Diabetes) empowerment programme.
Approach - This intervention involves carrying out activities in the community where the participants live, contributing to the implementation of an integrated, localised response that meets people's real needs. It is based on partnerships with local stakeholders. House of Diabetes is currently being developed in different locations in Portugal, namely Covilhã, Proença-a-Nova, Lisbon (Penha de França, Areeiro and in the future in Arroios), and Cascais, with groups of 20 to 30 participants in each programme.
House of Diabetes is a motivation and training programme for people with diabetes, promoting health literacy and empowering them in different areas of diabetes treatment (diet, physical activity, self-monitoring and self-management, foot care, living with diabetes). Although the sessions have planned topics that have been agreed with local partners, they are adapted and adjusted to each group of people with diabetes and their careers. The sessions usually involve municipal or town council staff, as well as health centre professionals.
The programme provides for at least 6 sessions a year, with the aim of empowering people to change and adopt a healthier lifestyle and manage their diabetes.
Results - Participants that have already completed the House of Diabetes programmes consider it to be very good. Most consider that their participation in the sessions contributed to helping them with diabetes care and health monitoring. They also consider that it has had an impact on their ability to deal with diabetes on a day-to-day basis. All participants classify their participation on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the best rating, as higher than 8.
Implications - The House of Diabetes programme is a new solution for empowering people with diabetes to improve self-management, diabetes control and informed participation in everyday decisions. The success of this programme is related to the involvement of participants, local stakeholders, the promotion of a network of partnerships with local councils, social solidarity associations and primary care health units, from a perspective of proximity and continuity.