Chad Paraone: Let's Beat Diabetes

In February 2005, the Counties Manukau District Health Board approved a five year plan to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes in Counties Manukau, with a funding envelope of $10 million over five years to support its implementation. Let's Beat Diabetes (LBD) is a district-wide strategy based on working with key community partners from multiple sectors to create long-term sustainable change. The aim: to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, slow disease progression and increase quality of life for people with diabetes in Counties Manukau (which covers Manukau City, Papakura and Franklin districts).

Fundamental to the plan is a 'whole society – whole life course – whole whānau/family' approach to preventing and managing diabetes. This meant engaging a wide range of partners to create a shared vision, leadership and commitment to tackling the diabetes epidemic on many different fronts. Partners include agencies/organisations from health, education, sport and recreation, territorial authorities, food industry, academic institutions and multiple local communities.

Much of the increase in type 2 diabetes is driven by obesity, so targeting obesity is a significant component of the programme. The national initiatives launched in recent months aimed at tackling obesity, such as Mission On and HEHA (Health Eating Healthy Action), are being folded into the LBD framework and programme to ensure consistent design and delivery. For Counties Manukau, HEHA = LBD.

Whereas the primary focus in 2005/06 was design and development (including infrastructure, capacity, relationships, detailed design work and resource/training development), the focus for the LBD partners in 2006/07 has shifted to implementation (operational delivery) as the programme builds into the five year plan. The significant evaluation component (undertaken by the School of Population Health, Auckland University) is contributing to the development of a strong knowledge base and learning environment.

The funding investment by the Counties Manukau DHB is being supplemented by funding and resource commitments from the Ministry of Health and many of the LBD community partners/agencies – enabling the 60+ initiatives across the 10 broad LBD action areas to build and maintain momentum.

This presentation will provide a broad overview of the LBD programme, highlighting the LBD approach, the progress, evidence and learnings/outcomes to date for various components of the programme.

Chad Paraone

Chad is Programme Director for the Let's Beat Diabetes programme in Counties Manukau. Chad has a background in health management, primarily in the areas of Māori development, information management, public health and project/programme management. Following a career that tracked through the Auckland Area Health Board, Northern Regional Health Authority, Health Funding Authority and (briefly) the Ministry of Health, he worked on the Kidslink programme in Counties Manukau before joining ACC in 2003 as General Manager for Māori and Customer Access (including Pacific and Asian development, as well as Elderly and Disability access).

Chad re-joined the Counties Manukau team in August 2006 to lead the LBD programme. Of Māori and Scottish descent, he belongs to Te Aupouri and Kai Tahu.