The overall objective of the project is to establish access to care through community-based approaches focusing on outreach, capacity building and patient support groups.
WDF 22-1889 represents a third phase collaboration with Georgia Red Cross Society (GRCS) seeking to roll out the community-based project model in two new rural districts and introducing a new school health component leveraging GRCS volunteer networks.Project activities include:• Revising training/IEC materials from previous projects and rolling out training of GRCS- and community volunteers in awareness raising, mobilisation, diabetes screening, referral pathways, communication skills and psychosocial support through the ToT approach.• Developing and implementing school health components, including ofo study of drivers and barriers to healthy living,o The establishment of a technical working group to develop guidelines and recommendations,o engaging volunteer networks to conduct awareness-raising,o and introducing healthy lifestyles as part of the biology curriculum.• Rolling out of awareness-raising and mobilisation activities including community meetings and door-to-door visits to screen for risk factors to identify people at risk of diabetes.• Creating access to care in rural areas (screening, patient education, treatment of complications and referral) through training of doctors and nurses in villages with health facilities, and deployment of mobile unit (procured in project WDF13-800) in villages without health facilities for service delivery. Specialists (endocrinologists, ophthalmologists) visit rural areas for treatment of complications.• Establishing patient support groups for new and known diabetes patients and their family members facilitated by trained GRCS volunteers. Groups to focus on healthy lifestyles and improving self-management skills and to include family members for psychosocial support.• Conducting a substantial M&E component, with routine monitoring visits, baseline and end-line assessments and cost-effectiveness analysis to be undertaken.
Total population of 200,000 people (198 villages) with access to community-based care facilitated by 201 GRCS volunteers, 1,206 community volunteers, 170 doctors and 700 nurses trained.• Healthy living module for school children developed with MoH and MES; 5,829 health sessions conducted with 15,000 school children, 22,500 parents and 600 teachers reached.• 50,000 people screened for diabetes risk factors door-to-door of which 25,000 identified with high risk screened for diabetes; at least 2,500 new cases diagnosed and provided with care and 1,500 cases with complications treated.• 250 patient support groups created; self-management skills peer support, and regular glucose monitoring enabled. Link to referral established.