The Solomon Islands are one of the top 12 countries in the world for diabetes prevalence, presenting a huge threat to the health of all Solomon Islanders.
When properly managed, people with diabetes can live long and healthy lives, however without the right health care they are susceptible to developing diabetic foot wounds on their feet due to reduced blood circulation. Without proper management these infected wounds will not heal, amputation will be required and, in some circumstances, an infected wound can result in death.
Amputation of a limb is a substantial burden for the person involved, their family and their community as well as a financial burden on the health care system. It is in the best interests of everyone to do everything we can to prevent amputations.
The experienced nursing and rehabilitation staff in the Solomon Islands have completed previous training in DFM and continue to work on strengthening their service systems to meet the needs of their clients. This project is focused on implementing offloading, a best practice technique in wound management. Together we have the potential to enhance their services and reduce the number of amputations required.
The clinical team at MA are super excited to get over to the Solomon Islands to begin face-to-face training and have been working remotely with our partners at the MHMS to procure the equipment and materials needed for the grand opening of their new National Diabetes Clinic.
If you are a health professional with experience in DFM, we would love to hear from you about possible contributions to this project, please email Daniel Noll.
If you would like to learn more about this project, please download the project summary or contact project manager, Lauren Flaherty.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge our funder, the Government of Canada, as projects like these would not be possible without their support.
Our work also wouldn’t be possible without the ongoing support of our members so we also thank you and we will keep you updated on the progress of this project as it happens!