Obesity is a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Reducing obesity through healthy nutrition and exercise helps prevent diabetes and associated diseases.Once diagnosed with diabetes, nutrition is also a significant component in managing and controlling the disease. Throughout the last 10 to 15 years, various institutions in the Caribbean have developed protocols for the clinical management of diabetes. These protocols have been widely accepted and have helped standardise and improve the quality of diabetes care. However, the nutritional component needs to be improved in these protocols. No standard protocol for the healthy management of diabetes exists in the region.The Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) has initiated the development of a protocol for the nutritional management of diabetes and obesity. As many people with diabetes in the Caribbean are also hypertensive, this aspect is included in the Protocol.The project aims to finalise a Caribbean Protocol for the nutritional management of diabetes, obesity and hypertension and train health care providers in its use.
Training will be held at two levels - the first at the regional level, focusing on the national nutrition coordinators and the diabetes educators from the national diabetes associations. This level of training will provide the participants with a working knowledge of the protocol. It will also equip them to train at the national level.The second level of training will be at the national level, where CFNI staff, the federal nutrition coordinator and the local diabetes association will train a core group of healthcare professionals on the use of the protocol.All trainees will receive training in:• How to use the protocol• When to use the protocol• With whom to use the protocolThe national nutrition coordinators and diabetes educators will also be trained to target various audiences with the information. This will enable them to know how to use the protocol while also being able to pass on the message to others. Sustainability is planned through the protocol presentation for endorsement and support at the annual Caucus of CARICOM Ministers of Health.While this project focuses on five countries with the region's lowest income, the protocol covers the entire Caribbean region and will be disseminated throughout the region.
• A total of 450 healthcare professionals from nine countries have been trained on the use of the protocol• A total of 38 lay caregivers from Jamaica, Belize, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines have been trained on the use of the protocol.