The South Asian Health Foundation (SAHF) has been named Diabetes Team of the Year at the 2015 BMJ Awards.
The team was acknowledged for their innovative community education programme that has helped to break down cultural barriers in South Asian communities who are known to hold back on self-management of the condition. They are also known to not engage with NHS services as much as other cultural groups to monitor their condition.
The project carried out 11 events in association with SAHF and local organisations in community centres, temples and GP practices from Glasgow to London. The events aimed to address issues of awareness and understanding of diabetes across the 'at risk' populations in South Asian communities in the UK.
The events were delivered in either Gujarati, Urdu or Punjabi to reflect the language needs of the attendees of the events. The events were attended by 400 people of South Asian origin with type 2 diabetes. A post-project report was launched in parliament with supporting speeches from Secretary of state for health Jeremy Hunt and national clinical director for obesity and diabetes at NHS England, Professor Jonathan Valabhji.
Ranjit Dhillon, project manager lead and cardiac specialist nurse, said: 'The events covered all of the key things people need to know about diabetes such as what it is, medication, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet. We worked with places of worship and community centres to reach out to as many people as possible.'
Dr Kiran Patel, consultant cardiologist & NHS England area team medical director and chair of trustees at SAHF, said: 'We are thrilled to have been named as Diabetes Team of the Year as part of the prestigious BMJ Awards. The feedback from the judges was fantastic, and we are proud to see our efforts being celebrated in this way. The shift in attitude and understanding of diabetes brought about by this community education programme is encouraging; it has made a real difference to the lives of South Asians living with diabetes, as well as their families.'
The project was funded by an education grant from Novo Nordisk.