The Arabic Accu-Chek Diabetes Education Program

To be successful, an education / training need to speak the language of the people the program is aimed at or wants to help. For that reason, Roche Diagnostics aligned the Accu-Chek Diabetes Education Program to the needs of the people living in the Arab World.

This education program is actually the first and only fully comprehensive program in Arabic providing the following advantages:

• It comes in four different specific modules tailored according to therapy regimes
• All its materials and components are in Arabic
• Its diet and nutritional parts are adjusted to Arabic food styles
• It is easy-to-teach as it offers complete and ready to use teaching materials
• It is easy-to-learn due to its clearly structured sessions and complete set of information materials
• Its results had been proven

The Arabic Accu-Chek Diabetes Education Program is offered in four different modules. Every one of these four modules is tailored according to the various therapy regimes.

For type 1 patients with diabetes, we are glad to offer the “Yellow” Intensive Insulin Therapy educational module. It is taught by the Diabetes Nurse Educator (DNE) to the persons with diabetes (PwD) through twelve (12) teaching sessions of 90-120 minutes each.

For the patients with type 2 diabetes, we have three different modules to offer:

1. The “Light Green” module is designed for the type 2 patients who do not inject insulin. This module is taught by the DNE in four (4) teaching sessions of again 90-120 minutes.
2. The “Dark Green” module is for type 2 patients that take only one or two insulin injections per day (the conventional therapy). This module needs five (5) teaching sessions of 90-120 minutes.
3. The last module is the “Blue” one which is tailored for the type 2 diabetes patients injecting three insulin shots before each meal (Pre-meal therapy model). This type is taught in six (6) sessions of 90-120 minutes.

All these four modules are taught to the patients through qualified and trained Diabetes Nurse Educators (DNE). Roche Diagnostics’ specialists will train these DNEs on a train-the-trainer basis. Successfully trained Diabetes Nurse Educators will receive the Accu-Chek Education Certificate acknowledging them in a special class of trainers.

Each module of the four programs mentioned earlier consists of teaching sets and patient’s materials and they are:

All the above materials had been transformed to the Arabic Language from the successful Berger Education Program. Its diet and nutritional sections reflects local food and eating habits. The transformation and translation for Arabian countries was supervised by Professor Ibrahim Salti, the consultant endocrinologist and head of the endocrinology division at the American University of Beirut (isalti@aub.edu.lb).

Furthermore, Professor Salti and a number of well known and acknowledged Consultant Endocrinologists and renowned Medical Institutions endorsed the Arabic Accu-Chek Diabetes Education Program. These all agreed that the medical and nutritional contents of the program are in agreement with current international guidelines for the education of patients with different types of diabetes. It is recommended for use by trained DNE under the supervision of qualified specialist Endocrinologists.

Proven Medical Evidence

A number of scientific papers describe how the Berger Program – the predecessor of the Accu-Chek Education Program – supports the reduction of HbA1c levels, body weight or the uptake of oral drugs.

According to high ranking diabetologists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the average HbA1c for patients with diabetes in the Gulf region equals roughly 13%. This imposes a high risk on the patient’s health as well as a financial burden to society in the future. With the Arabic Accu-Chek Education Program, a modern and acknowledged solution is now easily available for physicians, DNEs and other experts who expect education programs to provide the following benefits:

1. Easily available at limited cost
2. Evidence based and with proven impact on glycemic control
3. Perfectly adjusted to the therapeutic scheme of the patient
4. Group approach to foster exchange in the group and maximise effectiveness (e.g. time invested)
5. Complete and adjusted portfolio / set of material for the patient and trainer to turn the training into a sustainable learning adventure.

If you are interested to implement this Accu-Chek Education Program in your clinic, please consult your local Accu-Chek representative.