Manitoba groups hope diabetes framework will have major impact

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This article was published 07/10/2022 (1230 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A framework on diabetes prevention and treatment in Canada is drawing optimism from local and national stakeholders after the plan was tabled Wednesday in the House of Commons.

Liberal MP Sonia Sidhu called for the framework as part of a private member’s bill that became law last year.

“The framework means that Canada will have a co-ordinated response to diabetes that will improve health outcomes for everyone,” Sidhu said at a press conference Wednesday.

Having this framework finally tabled is a relief for the ever-growing number of people being diagnosed with the disease, said Joan King, director of government relations, public affairs and advocacy with Diabetes Canada, which worked on the bill.

“We are trying to impart the impact this framework could have for people living with diabetes in this country,” King told the Sun. “This will have long-term goals that will meet measurable targets.”

According to the private member’s bill, the framework must outline the training, education and guidance health workers need to promote the treatment and prevention of diabetes, including new clinical practice guidelines.

The bill allows Diabetes Canada to have some legal latitude in asking for provisions and ensuring it is implemented as well, said King.

The act also says the government will ensure the Canada Revenue Agency administers the disability tax credit fairly and in a way that helps as many people with diabetes as possible.

The framework addresses research, surveillance and data collection, which King said will help the federal government and provinces monitor progress or drawbacks in different regions so it can modify the framework.

This is not the first time the federal government addressed diabetes as a national issue. A federal strategy was established in 1999, but then absorbed into a larger strategy to address chronic diseases in 2005. King said that strategy was more about funding programs that addressed diabetes, but the programs folded once the funding was used up.

This time, though, it’s about a longer-term vision that is needed now more than ever, said King. Diabetes and prediabetes in Canada has grown 6.5 per cent since the first strategy, according to statistics released by Diabetes Canada, and the annual cost of treating the disease has grown to $30 billion across the country.

The strategy will serve as a road map for provincial health systems and outline what diabetes treatment and prevention should look like in Canada, she said. The bill and resulting framework was modeled after Diabetes Canada’s Diabetes 360 Strategy, created five years ago, King explained. It contained recommendations to governments, then snowballed from there.

King pointed out Manitoba does have a plan of its own, as set out in the 2022 budget called the comprehensive provincial diabetes strategy. The Manitoba government worked with Shared Health to develop the Manitoba diabetes action plan, which aligns with Manitoba’s clinical and preventative services plan and the Diabetes 360 Strategy.

Diabetes occurs when the body can’t produce its own insulin, which regulates glucose levels in the body. According to statistics for Manitoba from Diabetes Canada, it contributes to 50 per cent of kidney failures requiring dialysis, 40 per cent of heart attacks, 30 per cent of strokes, 70 per cent of all non-traumatic leg and foot amputations and is a leading cause of blindness.

What causes the limb amputations is the loss of feeling in the extremities caused by diabetes, explained Dr. Rob Bellmont, a podiatrist at the Westman Foot Clinic in Brandon. Physicians like himself help diabetics monitor their feet and lower limbs for loss of blood pressure and nerve sensation with tests that are done frequently so they can catch changes in their condition early and hopefully improve the condition.

Amputation is an option, he said, but there are many steps podiatrists go through to help patients manage their condition. It’s a concern, he said, but he tells patients not to let it overshadow their lives.

He hadn’t read about the framework as of Thursday, but said he was pleased the federal government was tabling a blueprint to address the disease.

“Anything that can save a foot from amputation is good,” he said. “I’ve seen many diabetic frameworks in the U.K. and Canada over the 30 years I’ve practised, but anything to help us and our patients is great.”

He hopes the framework will target a major issue — affordability of care. Everything from blood test strips to medications cost money, so any long-term plans to allow diabetics to have more access to the tools they need will save lives, he said.

In terms of kidney failure and dialysis, the diabetes framework has the potential to provide much-needed support and improved access to Canadians with diabetes to reduce their risk of developing kidney disease and treating diabetic kidney disease, said Elizabeth Myles, national executive director of The Kidney Foundation of Canada in an emailed statement.

According to Diabetes Canada, as of March 2022 there were 5.7 million people diagnosed with diabetes and another five million experiencing prediabetes, which can develop into Type 2 diabetes if left unmanaged.

Manitoba also has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the country. The province has a generally older population, with a median age of 38 years. And the older someone is, the higher the risk for developing diabetes.

The province also has a large Indigenous population, who have higher risk factors for diabetes than non-Indigenous people. Additionally, about 18 per cent of the province’s population identifies as East Asian, African, Arab, or South Asian descent. These population groups are also at risk of developing diabetes, according to Diabetes Canada.

The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is grateful the framework is acknowledging the high prevalence of diabetes among First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples, said Leah LaPlante, executive director of the southwest region of the MMF.

While she hadn’t read the framework, LaPlante said the MMF has known diabetes is an issue among Métis people for a long time.

A 2010 study on the state of Métis health in the province, conducted by the University of Manitoba and the MMF, concluded Métis people have a higher prevalence of diabetes (12 per cent), compared to all other Manitobans (8.9 per cent). That is after accounting for variables like age and income.

“We sort of knew what the results would be, but we had no idea that it was even more so than we thought,” LaPlante said. “It became very clear that we had a lot of work to do, and diabetes is very prevalent. Any kind of a program at all, any kind of acknowledgement that we need help in this area is a very good thing.”

LaPlante, who has Type 2 diabetes, said the condition takes a lot of time and resources to manage, she said.

The province and Prairie Mountain Health couldn’t immediately provide a comment to the Sun Thursday.

The framework is available at bit.ly/3SH8awk.

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press

» Twitter: @karenleighmcki1