The project aims at improving awareness of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy among the general public, people with diabetes and health personnel and to prevent blindness due to diabetes through early diagnosis and treatment.
Expected impact
90,000 people screened for diabetes
13,500 people with diabetes screened for diabetic retinopathy
2,700 people treated for diabetic retinopathy
1,000 people with diabetes will receive laser treatment
1,000 health care providers will attend seminars on diabetes and diabetic retinopathy
Results to date
3 diabetes clinics have been established / strengthened. 3,442 patients have been treated at these clinics.
123 awareness sessions and 485 screening camps have been conducted, reaching 99,997 people.
94,970 people have been screened for diabetes, detecting 16,546 cases of diabetes (17,4%).
67,571 people with diabetes have been screened for diabetic retinopathy, detecting 3,678 cases (5,4%).
2,522 people have been treated for diabetic retinopathy (laser or surgery).
11 doctors and 4,135 paramedics have been trained.
Two impact studies have been conducted. One of them concluded that out of 37,174 people screened in South Kerala, nearly 20% had diabetes. 16% of those with diabetes had diabetic retinopathy of whom nearly 40% had the potential to go blind.
Project details
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common causes of blindness in developing countries. In India, it was the 17th cause of blindness 20 years ago, but it has now ascended to the 6th position.
With the combination of a larger proportion of people in older age groups, and the rapid urbanization of the recent years and changes in lifestyle, Kerala is likely to face an increasing incidence of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases in the future.
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most severe consequences of poorly controlled diabetes. In order to reduce the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy, it is crucial to increase awareness on the rising burden of diabetes and its complications.
Objective
The project aims at improving awareness of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy among the general public, people with diabetes and health personnel and to prevent blindness due to diabetes through early diagnosis and treatment.
Approach
The project will be implemented by Chaithanya Sight Foundation in 5 districts of Kerala. The hospital at Trivandrum will implement the project in 3 districts (Trivandrum, Quilon and Allepey), while the hospital at Ernakulam will be responsible for implementing the project in the two remaining districts (Ernakulam and Kottayam).
The project consists of 3 major components:
Creating awareness: An intensive awareness campaign will be conducted targetting the general public, people with diabetes and health care providers. The campaign will include distribution of information material, conducting seminars on diabetes and diabetic retinopathy for health personnel, education of people with diabetes and other means to raise the awareness.
Screening: Community-based screening camps will be arranged in order to detect undiagnosed cases of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. Newly identified people with diabetes and diabetic retinopathy will be referred to service delivery centers for appropriate follow-up.
Service delivery: At the diabetic retinopathy clinics, appropriate follow-up, laser treatment, surgery and counselling will be provided for people diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy.
