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Support for secondary schools - GetWize2health Programme

How can the adults of the future, and ultimately the parents of the future, be best set up to live healthy lives if they have their schooling delivered in an environment that doesn't promote and encourage the making of the healthier decisions?   How can students learn and live well when they don't have the resources to make decisions about living a healthy lifestyle...or even how to decide what information is safe to use among the range of sources available to them?Diabetes Foundation ...

Adolescent Bariatric Project - the first six are through!

Yesterday was a milestone (one among many) for the first six of the group of 20 young people (age 15-18) with diabetes or pre-diabetes who have been on a three year health journey as part of the Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa/Middlemore Hospital collaboration, the Adolescent Bariatric project.  See here for more information and here for a story from one participant.  From our organisation, Dr John Baker (Diabetes Specialist), Kate Smallman (Nurse Practitioner/Researcher), Trish Harry (He...

Video clip of Board Chair Dr John Baker speaking on medication access 2023

This clip uploaded by the Bowel Cancer society to Instagram of our Board Chair, Dr John Baker, speaking at the Auckland My Life Matters event.    https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyDFd7dvI3d/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==...

"No-one is left behind" - MyLifeMatters

In the last few months we've been privileged to be part of the MyLifeMatters campaign where organisations, individuals, patients and supporters have come together collaboratively to advocate and make a difference to what is described as the 'medications crisis' in Aotearoa.   Advocacy for improved medications and technology for treatment of diabetes has formed a strong part of the mahi of Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa in recent years, and the opportunity to add our voice to that of many...

Showcasing community gardens across Tāmaki Makaurau

On our Facebook pages (Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa and Gardens4Health) we've posted recently about a few of the community gardens we've been working with.    Facilitator for West/North Auckland, Tania, has been out and about with gifts of seedlings and supplies for some of the gardens in her areas, and you'll be seeing more soon from other areas.   Sometimes there's a community garden tucked down a side street near you, on your drive somewhere, or a new one develops you hadn...

Staying in Touch - old resources... time for a stocktake and review

How old is too old for a teaching or information resource?  When does something move past being ok, into being too outdated and out of fashion to be useful?  What criteria should be used to evaluate resources?  Should we be printing paper copies?  How much translation is needed, and what languages?  Has anyone done a resource on this topic or that? Who holds these things?  Who monitors or updates?  These are some of the many questions we're asking ourselves as ...

In the News

There's a familiar face in this article by Jo McCarroll/NZ Gardener, find it on Stuff here.  The article is about the amazing Auckland Mission HomeGround roof garden.  What an extraordinary effort.   Gardens4Health Manager, Richard Main (pictured) has been privileged to be involved since the start, working alongside  engineers, architects and others and providing advice and support for the innovative rooftop garden.  As Richard talks to Jo about in the article, he i...

MyLifeMatters

The My Life Matters medication access campaign has travelled the country and generated plenty of discussion, headlines and coverage.  It's never been more important for the voices of patients and supporters to be heard to make sure the decisions made by the medication agency Pharmac reflect the sort of country we want to live in.  If you haven't had a look at the campaign information, go here https://www.mylifematters.org.nz/.  More importantly, sign up to attend the final Roadsho...

Publication - DCSS - Atrial Fibrillation and Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Latest findings from Professor David Simmons and team analysis of DCSS data relating to Atrial Fibrillation (AF) published in Journal of the American Heart Association.    Congratulations Dahai Yu et al on another publication!The conclusion from the abstract is "This study found a mediating effect of T2D on the risk of AF in a population with IGT in New Zealand"   The recommendation was there was a need for more study to replicate findings to help with identification of indiv...

CGM - Kate gets to try out what is being recommended for her patients with Type 1 diabetes

On our Facebook page we've posted links to a website which is advocating on behalf of people with Type 1 Diabetes to get better and more equitable access to Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology.   https://www.nomorefear.org.nz/  It's an interesting and thought provoking read, and if you aren't familiar with the topic, will help with understanding of just how important and life changing (and life saving!) these devices can be.  There's a link on the site for a petiti...

MyLifeMatters - Medication funding in New Zealand

This headline (RNZ, 28 August 2023) referred to the launch of a campaign into which a massive amount of work has been done to co-ordinate efforts to act for those who are unable to access effective, proven medications and treatments, many of which are funded and available in other countries.   This process has been lead by Malcolm Mulholland of Patient Voice Aotearoa supported by a range of community organisations, and the launch will be followed up by a Roadshow around the country ove...

Cassie's trip to the American Society for Nutrition Conference

Written by Cassie Slade - Lifestyle Facilitator, Schools.I travelled from Auckland on a cold winter morning to summer in Canada. Firstly flying to Toronto and then by car in the early hours to my final destination of St Catharine's. St Catharine's is a city about 20 mins from Niagara Falls and is home to Brock University.  My host at Brock, Professor Wendy Ward, is in the Kinesiology Department. She was incredibly welcoming and generous with sharing her time and knowledge. Wendy’s researc...

Welcome to our newest Board Member - Ruby McGill

The Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa is thrilled to welcome Ruby McGill (Te Ātiawa) as a new member of the Board of Trustees.Ruby is a well known advocate for people with diabetes, particularly Type 1.  Her bio describes her as "Blogger, business owner, mum and Type 1 diabetes (T1D) warrior who is determined to live a long, full and healthy life, while sharing her experience to help others thrive with T1D. Ruby was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 14 years old. And has become a...

Workplace wellness and staying home when sick

The Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Workplaces programme aims to keep employees healthy through improved lifestyle behaviours and developing a work environment that encourages the healthier choice. Healthy employees are less likely to get sick, and less likely to suffer from presenteeism or absenteeism. But when sickness does strike, it's often the case that unwell employees feel social pressure to come to work.   Te Whatu Ora have been promoting this campaign which is encouraging people ...

Publication - DCSS - Cardiovascular disease and heart failure with IGT

The title of this article in Cardiovascular Diabetology using analysis of the DCSS Quality Improvement Audit data is "Effect of onset of type 2 diabetes on risks of cardiovascular disease and heart failure among new Zealanders with impaired glucose tolerance over 25 years: tapered-matched landmark analysis".   Go here for the paper.  The aim of the study was to "examine the association between the incident onset of T2DM and 5- and 10-year risks of CVD and HF in people with IG...

Throwback - going through the photo albums...

We've been going back through some of the photos we have taken over the years.  Yes, these are the pre-digital era photos, they've been stored in actual albums on a shelf in the office.   It's been wonderful though taking a journey down memory lane so we thought we'd share a few pictures starting from the 1990's, back when Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa was still South Auckland Diabetes Project, even before it became Diabetes Projects Trust.   It's really nice to reflect o...

NZSSD Conference 2023

As always, a trip to the NZSSD (New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes) conference in May is a high point of our year.  This year we were privileged to send three of our team to the Wellington event, Kate Smallman, Kanchana Perera and Karen Pickering.  Thank you to Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa and NZSSD for funding towards this.   The NZSSD conference is always an excellent opportunity to catch up with the latest of what has been happening around New Zealand and overse...

Poster Success at NZSSD Conference

Congratulations Kanchana Perera on the award for your poster at the 2023 NZSSD (New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes) poster.The poster is titled "Ethnic differences in young adults with non-insulin treated Type 2 Diabetes".    The analysis is from data from the DCSS Quality Improvement Audit carried out by Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa in Auckland.Acknowledgements to University of Western Sydney and Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa. Thanks to the NZSSD Organising committee for opp...

Research - These Wize Women, Catch them if you can - NZSSD Poster

Karen Pickering presented a poster on some qualitative research she and Kate Smallman were working on looking into what makes older women take on physical activity above and beyond what their contemporaries are doing.  Preliminary analysis of data gathered from interviews and online questions from a small group of women over the age of 50 who do well beyond what is considered 'the usual' in terms of physical activity was put into poster format and presented at the 2023 NZSSD conference in W...

Publication - DCSS - Adverse clinical outcomes and socioeconomic and ethnic disparities

Just published, another paper from the long running DCSS audit.   This multiple linked cohort study aimed to "examine the separate population-level contributions of the ethnic and socioeconomic disparities among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and residence in New Zealand (NZ)".  Go here to read.  Some fascinating observations around deprivation and ethnicity having impacts on different complications.     https://www.dovepress.com/articles.php?artic...

An absolutely inspiring young woman

In 2020 the Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa took on a research partnership with Middlemore hospital, funded by the Perpetual Guardian Trust and the Freemasons Foundation, to recruit and work with  20 young people with Type 2 diabetes, or pre-diabetes in the Counties Manukau Health DHB area.    It's been a long and challenging journey for all involved, not least the young people involved.    Our onsite research team...Kate, Trish, Diana have seen a lot of growth and cha...

Introducing Kanchana Perera and her PhD topic

Hello there! My name is Kanchana Perera and I am a University of Auckland graduate having obtained a M.Sc. in medical statistics exactly TWENTY years ago! Since then, I have worked as a biostatistician in Perth, Auckland and am currently with the US Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences located in Maryland, USA.  I am however based in Auckland and working with Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa as I embark on an exciting (and eye opening!) PhD journey with Western Sydney Universit...

Publication - Community Awareness Project for new Diabetes medications

Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa community awareness project taking a practical approach to making sure that the newly funded Diabetes Type 2 medications, Empagliflozin and Dulaglutide get to where there are most needed.   In 2021, Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa, with funding from Foundation North, worked with Blackland PR to design and run a campaign to increase inquiries by patients to doctors about whether the medications were a better option for them.  There is more information on t...

Throwback...the original exercise groups for health - DPT Lifestyle

Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa, like any community based organisation has evolved over the years in terms of the services being delivered.   Based in the Otara community, for years the team ran well  attended exercise groups in a number of community venues, the last two still run by the Foundation team finished in 2014.   These groups were part of the then DPT Lifestyle Programme, funded by the Ministry of Health (or predecessor).  They were seen as an important part ...

In the News

It's a striking headline, "7 out of 10 adults in Counties Manukau overweight or obese".  According to Local Democracy reporter Stephen Forbes (published 1 News), Dr John Baker, who is Board Chair of Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa and is an endocrinologist who has been working in the area for over 40 years, finds the statistics from this report to Parliaments health select committee unsurprising.   Key to this article though is Dr Baker reiterates that overweight and obesity "isn't a...