The inaugural DIABRIDGE Forum brought healthcare professionals together to discuss structured diabetes education. They highlighted a lack of diabetes educators, limited clinical time, and the barriers of medicine access and cost, and were clear that structured education would benefit their patients.
Discussion summary
The inaugural DIABRIDGE Forum took place online on 31 July 2026, bringing together healthcare professionals to discuss structured diabetes education.
Participants described a consistent picture. They highlighted a lack of diabetes educators in hospitals, and noted that doctors often do not have the time to provide education within routine consultations. As a result, patients are not routinely offered structured diabetes education as part of their care.
Discussion also turned to wider barriers that shape what education can achieve, including insufficient access to diabetes medicines and the cost of care for patients and families.
Despite these constraints, participants were clear that structured diabetes education would benefit their patients. The challenge they described was not whether education is worthwhile, but how to make it routinely available within stretched services.
These themes echo DIABRIDGE Insights Executive Brief 01, The Implementation Gap. Educator capacity, protected time and routine delivery are organisational questions, and they need organisational answers. The brief also notes that where medicines and monitoring are inconsistent, the self-management skills built through education become more important, not less.
The DIABRIDGE Forum continues as a monthly online discussion for clinicians and healthcare leaders.
Registration for this session has closed. Details of the next Forum will be posted here.
Related Insights
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Executive Brief
The Implementation Gap: Structured Diabetes Education
Structured diabetes education improves outcomes, including in African trials, yet it is not reliably delivered as routine care, and published data on its reach are scarce. This brief sets out why the implementation gap forms, why it matters most in Africa, and five conditions organisations need for reliable, sustained delivery.
Read about The Implementation Gap: Structured Diabetes Education
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Conversations
What gets in the way of delivering diabetes education consistently?
Our first DIABRIDGE Conversation asked healthcare professionals one question: what is the greatest barrier to delivering evidence-based diabetes education consistently? Their answers informed DIABRIDGE Insights Executive Brief 01.
Read about What gets in the way of delivering diabetes education consistently?
