A story to tell: Online support community for diabetics launched

'My Diabetes Story' gives 14 million Pakistani diabetics the opportunity to communicate

DUBAI: World Diabetes Day 2014 gave around 14 million diabetics and pre-diabetics in Pakistan the chance to share their medical and psychosocial concerns with other patients from across the Middle East.

The initiative, titled 'My Diabetes Story,' was launched at Dubai's al Murooj Rotana hotel on Wednesday. Pakistan will have its own patient ambassador to it from January 2015 to coordinate with other patient ambassadors from across the region, said Dr Azizul Hasan Aamir, president of the Pakistan Endocrine Society, while speaking to The Express Tribune at the event.

'My Diabetes Story' is an online community endorsed and overseen by national diabetes associations from Middle Eastern countries and Sanofi, a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris.

The event brought together patient ambassadors from United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Iran, who will lead the community where patients can discuss the issues that matter most to them as well as share tips and recommendations for managing diabetes.

"This initiative is a major step forward in meeting the neglected priority of social support and patient-to-patient communication in the country's healthcare sector," said Dr Aamir, adding that the average diabetes patient spends a mere 60 minutes with their doctor each year.

"For the remaining 8,759 hours in the year, these patients themselves are responsible to manage their own condition and often feel very alone and alienated when they are unable to keep up with normal life," explained Dr Aamir. "Community support groups are considered helpful for such patients because they offer them a platform to meet others who share similar medical and psychosocial concerns and are ready to offer their positive experiences of coping with the disease."



Hormoz, the Iranian My Diabetes Story ambassador who holds a postgraduate degree in business administration, agreed with Dr Aamir. Kaykhanzadeh, who had been diabetic since he was 14 years old, asserted that joining a community for diabetics and finding people who empathise could be of great assistance to anyone, whether they were living with Type I or Type II diabetes.

UAE patient ambassador Shurook Al Harmoodi, a 20-year-old student at Sharjah University, added that diabetes was a widely misunderstood condition. "Many patients who are diagnosed with it have lots of questions on how to live with the disease," he said. "Patient and family support remains the backbone for them."

According to Sanofi country communication director Laila Khan, this unique social network for diabetics as well as their families and friends was launched to meet the vital and unmet need expressed by the patients and the diabetes associations in the Middle East and Asia.



"The discussions taking place on the online community are led by inspirational patients who are successfully managing their condition and are keen to spread awareness and support to other people living with diabetes," said Khan. "These patients, nominated by the diabetes associations in their respective countries, are the My Diabetes Story ambassadors."

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2014.