University of Western Australia’s diabetes education programme is equipping health professionals with the skills to support Australians living with diabetes. 

An education programme by researchers at the University of Western Australia’s School of Health and Clinical Sciences is helping equip health professionals with the skills to support Australians living with diabetes. 

“Diabetes care is not delivered by one profession alone,” said Alex Park, senior research fellow at the University of Western Australia (UWA). “By bringing different health professionals, educators and people living with diabetes into the design of education, we can develop training that is more relevant to the way care is delivered.”

The programme, Australia’s first allied health-specific diabetes education qualification, was developed through collaboration between researchers, practising allied health professionals, credentialled diabetes educators and people living with diabetes, including First Nations representation. It reflects how diabetes care is delivered in the real world: collaboratively, across multiple health professions and increasingly through digital and community-based services.

“This is ultimately about building capacity across the health system,” said Joseph Carpini, senior lecturer at UWA. “If we can give more healthcare professionals the knowledge and confidence to support people with diabetes, we have the potential to strengthen care closer to where people live and work.”

The research provides a potential model for other areas of healthcare where growing demand, workforce shortages and geographic inequities require new approaches to education and service delivery. Further research will examine how the programme influenced participants’ professional practice and, ultimately, outcomes for people living with diabetes.