Despite the DAFNE approach being proven to work in Europe,
many thought that it would not work in the UK.
In 1998 a team from 3 UK diabetes units (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Northumbria
Healthcare Trust and Kings College Hospital, London) travelled to
Düsseldorf to observe Professor Bergers course, to determine
the suitability for the UK healthcare setting. They concluded that such
a programme would be suitable for UK patients and decided to develop it
for use in this country.
In 1999 the UK team received funding from Diabetes UK to enable them to
develop the German course - translate the German curriculum, develop specific
course resources - and conduct an 18-month Feasibility Study
which commenced in February 2000.
169 adults with poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes were recruited and randomised
to 1 of 2 groups. One group (Immediate DAFNE) attended the 5-day
DAFNE course immediately, whilst the second group (Delayed DAFNE)
acted as controls receiving their standard diabetes care.
After 6 months the 2 groups were compared for a range of biomedical and
psychological measures. The Delayed DAFNE group then completed a DAFNE course.
After a further 6 months the 2 groups were once again compared using the
same biomedical and psychological measures.
The results (published in the British Medical Journal in October 2002) [11]
revealed that the 5-day DAFNE course improved blood glucose control, quality
of life and treatment satisfaction.
If you are interested in reading a full account of the DAFNE trial you can
view the paper on the BMJ website
"Together, DAFNE and I are delivering the best results in diabetic care
I've experienced in 25 years" |