A Model for Diabetes Health Care Delivery in Developing Countries

Developing countries can make considerable progress in providing diabetes health care if they adopt ideas and technologies already being applied in diabetes health care in other parts of the world, but they must adapt them to their own particular circumstances. Too often efforts in this direction fail because it is not possible to transfer programs from developed nations intact and expect them to function in the circumstances of less developed nations. Success on a national level requires the application of a systematic health care model tailored to the needs of the developing country. As discussed in this paper, the model's elements include organization of the available national health care delivery system; education of health care personnel, patients, their families, and communities; diabetes-related epidemiological research; education program planning; and continuous program evaluation and adjustment.