Ireland’s first Masters in Diabetes programme has been launched by NUI Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
The Masters programme aims to prepare healthcare professional graduates to effectively contribute to diabetes management through clinical and academic training.
Diabetes is a global health emergency with over 600 million people expected to have the condition by 2030, representing approximately 10% of the world’s population.
Therefore, the World Health Organisation has classed it as an epidemic requiring urgent action for both prevention and management.
This has been echoed in Irelands Health Service Executive national policy and clinical strategy for diabetes.
It is a chronic metabolic condition that can cause significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality if not managed correctly.
Central to this management is controlling key physiological indices such as blood sugar, blood pressure and blood lipid levels, as well as promoting health behaviours such as regular exercise, healthy eating and not smoking.
Unfortunately achieving these biological targets and lifestyle goals is extremely challenging.
Speaking at the launch of the new programme, Professor Sean Dinneen of NUI Galway’s School of Medicine and HSE National Lead for Diabetes, said: “Understanding the role of health promotion, as well as new therapies and technologies and how they will enable patient centred diabetes care will be important to ensure good outcomes for our patients. This Masters in Diabetes programme will deliver on this for students.”
