Government collaboration of IDF recognized (2014-16) diabetes course in India: A new slant in medical education for PCPs

Background

Globally, 415 million people suffer from diabetes, out of which 69.2 million lives in India. While Government sector account for majority of the chronic cases being managed there, the private sector also handles many of the cases and the Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) in both areas play a critical role as first line of contact and as a backbone of the referral system.

Aim

To build the capacity of PCPs of both private and government sector in management of diabetes to tackle the growing epidemic.

Method

Certificate course in evidence based DM was started in 2010 by Public Health Foundation of India in collaboration with an academic partner. The curriculum was contextualized by national experts and delivered by specialists trained in its standardized delivery. To ensure quality and standardized delivery of training, the course was supported by a strong monitoring and evaluation mechanism. Started 7 yrs ago in private sector, the Certificate Course in Evidence Based Diabetes Management (CCEBDM) received International Diabetes Federation (IDF) recognition for the year 2014-16 and has received various awards and recognitions both from industry and academia. Various Government bodies and State Governments in the country such as Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) under Government of West Bengal, National Health Mission (NHM), Government of Kerala and Government of Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Haryana have also adopted the CCEBDM course for training their Primary Care Physicians.

Results

This 12 modular course, over its journey of seven years, currently in fifth cycle has trained nearly 10486 PCPs from nearly 400 districts across 31 states in India. Nearly 38% or around 3967 PCPs are from the government sector only. The compliance rate is over 90%. Evaluation of past cycles having participants from both private and government sector have shown that 97% PCPs agreed that the program had added to their knowledge & skills in DM, with 94% concurring that the curriculum was ideal for learning. More than 84% participants agreed that course facilitated them in timely referral of diabetes patients to the concerned specialists and helped in building a network. The implementation model of the course was also published in Lancet Diabetes Endocrinology 2016.

Discussion

The model is being accepted by many other government bodies for training of their PCPs and has a potential for wider outreach in other LMICs which are at the peak of an alarming epidemic of type 2 diabetes.