Two New Courses Launched To Help The Community Manage Growing Numbers Of People Living With Diabetes

Two new courses aimed at supporting those caring for people with Type 2 Diabetes and pre-diabetes have been launched as cases continue to rise.

Nicola Goss, Lecturer - Health & Diabetes, has a Bachelor of Science Majoring in Nutrition. Nicola overcame her own chronic health condition and is uniquely placed to communicate the science practically to people of all walks of life.

The new courses are a reaction to advocacy from the health and social service sectors to better prepare those who work with and care for those with chronic conditions.

One local General Practitioner told the UCOL Applied Sciences’ team that “non-COVID-19 conditions such as Diabetes are as much as a threat to morbidity and mortality as a pandemic.”

Realising the extent of the growing problem, UCOL’s Applied Sciences team designed two micro-credential courses.

“We put our heads together to develop courses aimed at increasing the knowledge and capability within the community to equip individuals with the skills to manage health and wellbeing concerning pre-diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes.”

However, Nicola said it’s not just for the health and social service sectors.

“Type 2 Diabetes is also becoming a more common employment issue. Managers need to know how to best support employees to continue their roles for longer.”

Stay Well to Stay Strong Microcredential (Level Three): The first part of the course relates to risk factors, general health terms, anatomy, and complications. The second part introduces the intervention triad (physical activity, nutrition and medication) and health and behaviour models.

This course is designed for whānau and/or carers of people recently diagnosed with Type2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes, and, those who have been recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes themselves. You can find out more here.

Cutting Your Diabetes Risk in Half Microcredential (Level Four): An extension of the Level Three course is designed for those who have either completed the Level Three course or for those already in the health sector and want a refresher or want to know more about Type 2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes specifically. This course caters to nurses, healthcare workers, managers, and people and capability advisors and covers the intervention strategies in greater depth. You can find out more here.

Both courses are competency-based and a typical course runs for 20 weeks. Students will need to commit to approximately four hours of lecture time and 1 to 2 hours of self-directed learning each week.

You can find out more about Diabetes in Aotearoa by visiting Diabetes New Zealand.

© Scoop Media