2013_10_08_ENF_investigacion-diabetes
The School of Nursing collaborates with European experts in the design of interventions for diabetes self-care.
In addition to Spain, countries such as Greece, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway and Bulgaria participate in the project EUWISE.
PHOTO: Manuel Castells
Researchers from the School of Nursing of the University of Navarra and European experts met recently at the framework of the European project EUWISE for the development of self-care strategies in patients with chronic processes such as diabetes. In this way, the University of Navarra joins the Integrated Care Strategy for chronic and multi-pathological patients approved by the Government of Navarra.
Dr. Mª Carmen Portillo, principal investigator of the academic center, explained that"the goal of this group of work is to create European interventions without borders that promote the self-care of patients with diabetes mellitus and in which the sociocultural and economic peculiarities of each country are reflected".
In this meeting we worked especially on interventions aimed at people in social exclusion or at risk of social exclusion, taking into account the financial crisis that is being experienced in Europe when planning health strategies and feasible health care programs.
The project has been subsidized with nearly 3 million euros by the European fund research , and the following countries participate along with Spain: Greece, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway and Bulgaria.
A commitment to new technologies
Following the European trend in the use of new communication technologies to improve the knowledge of patients about diabetes, the project EUWISE proposes an intervention in which patients take the reins and are in charge of their health, through an interactive web page. "Until now, existing websites in Europe for promote for chronic self-care have focused on improving knowledge and encouraging healthy habits. However, assessing our results in the project we see that personal networks and the volunteer activities are nowadays core topic", highlights Dr. Portillo.
The website is intended to be a navigational space where people with diabetes can identify their main sources of support and, in turn, be referred to organizations or communities that meet their needs, prevent social isolation and reinforce the process of learning and acquiring healthy habits.