| |
|
| |
|
We do not see how a doctor can fully understand DAFNE, be involved
with the course or follow-up patients without investment in the process.
Yes it is time consuming but time well spent!- the Nottingham
team
It is the whole DAFNE package which has been tested and
been shown to work. [11]
If changes are to be made, they too must be subject to rigorous evaluation,
before they can be recommended. People expect to be offered a tested
product.
The accurate assessment of carbohydrate is vital to the success of
the DAFNE approach. During the learning stage both participants and
non-dietetic educators need support from a trained dietitian. However
they do not need to be present throughout each course. Some centres
enlist support from part-time dietitians to help them to start up.
Remember! DAFNE is professionally satisfying for dietitians and
may help recruitment.
Many DAFNE graduates say this before they complete a DAFNE programme.
Some have learnt over many years by private trial and error how to
adjust insulin to food in a very sophisticated way. DAFNE teaches
the skills that take the guesswork out of insulin adjustment and builds
up confidence quickly to make the very large changes in insulin needed
on a meal by meal basis, in a truly free diet.
Patient education needs to be prescribed with the same rigour and
to the same standards as any drug or technological therapy. Learning
to be a DAFNE educator is a skill, like learning the DAFNE approach
itself, and needs time and practice. The training course contains
all the components necessary for an adult to learn a new skill (observation,
practice, reflection etc) and has been developed with expert educational
advice. Feedback from nurses and dietitians who have completed the
DAFNE Educator Programme (DEP) suggests that if anything the DEP is
too short.
There is no doubt that delivering DAFNE is labour intensive, but this
can be viewed as short-term pain for long-term gain. DAFNE has a unique
spectrum of outcomes, when compared with conventional management of
Type 1 diabetes. DAFNE graduates usually require less support afterwards
so clinics have much less of a role.
DAFNE educators agree that delivering the DANE programme is so rewarding,
any effort is well worth it; one educator stated The job satisfaction
I get from teaching DAFNE makes the rest of my job worthwhile.
DAFNE is a package in which all parts are mutually dependent. This
includes training and peer review.
Any intervention for patients requires QA. How else will a professional
or patient know they are getting a quality product? Just as a laboratory
tests, or the labs themselves are subject to review, so the evaluation
of education has its own well-tried methodology. This involves structured
observation, feedback and public review and scrutiny. The DAFNE QA
programme uses a quality circle methodology, which has
been tried and tested in Germany. It involves a 3-yearly structured
questionnaire and week long observational visit to each centre. The
results are reported to the Collaborative and will be publicly available.
The costs are detailed in the DAFNE
Funding Pack
|
|
|
|
|
|
|