Action on Diabetes (AoD) has tested and consulted more than 200 students and employees at Qatar University.
The initiative is in line with AoD’s efforts to bring about behavioural change and encourage a healthier lifestyle among the local community.
The three-day campaign is part of AoD’s major workplace diabetes screening programme and marks QU’s participation in World Diabetes Day activities.
The AoD campaign aims to tackle diabetes in Qatar by educating members of the community and those at risk on the contributing factors, empowering them to manage the condition and prevent it through early detection.
AoD is a public-private partnership initiated and funded by Maersk Oil Qatar.
Students visited the screening bus, which was deployed on campus at QU’s College of Arts and Sciences. A full range of testing equipment on board enables screening of blood glucose, HbA1c, cholesterol, body mass index and blood pressure.
Dr Asma al-Thani, head of the department of health sciences at QU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said: “We are very pleased to have welcomed the Action on Diabetes screening bus to our premises to test our students and staff for diabetes. It was great to see so many people visit the bus to get screened.”
Sheikh Faisal al-Thani, deputy managing director of Maersk Oil Qatar, said: “Early detection is vital to allow diabetes to be properly managed and complications prevented and we’re very grateful to Qatar University for playing a role in helping combat diabetes, one of Qatar’s greatest health challenges.”
Besides screening employees for diabetes, the nurses and educators also provided recommendations on how to reduce the risk of developing diabetes in the future. Those tested received a personalised analysis of their results, complete with colour-coded graphs showing their risk levels, as well as recommendations to improve their score over time.
A diabetes health audit was provided to employers along with a final report, which aggregated screening results with follow-up recommendations.
Herluf Nis Thomsen, senior project manager at Action on Diabetes, said: “We will continue to visit some of Qatar’s largest organisations throughout this year, and the next, to see behaviour change among the local community and tackle diabetes together.”