Prevention of type 2 diabetes and the implementation of large-scale prevention programs
This evidence review and evidence brief focus on preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes: both in terms of large-scaled prevention programs and system level change (evidence review) and summarising the evidence regarding lifestyle interventions and the potential for scalability (evidence brief).
Background
- Diabetes is a crucial health issue for Australia. More than 10% of Australians have diabetes or are at high risk.
- The burden of diabetes is compounded because many complications of diabetes can be debilitating or life threatening, such as cardiovascular disease, end-stage kidney disease, loss of vision, amputations and mental health issues.
- This review collates the evidence on diabetes prevention, highlights the key modifiable risk factors to target, and analyses what system-level changes are needed to successfully implement a population-wide diabetes prevention program.
Key findings
- There is substantial evidence that type 2 diabetes can be prevented and delayed, particularly in certain high-risk groups, and this has been successfully demonstrated in prevention programs in a range of settings.
- There is also evidence of type 2 diabetes prevention interventions being successfully scaled up and implemented population-wide.
- The system-level factors needed to successfully scale up an intervention are known and should be considered when planning large-scale diabetes prevention programs.
- However, while it is clear that large-scale prevention interventions can be effective, further research is needed to determine which characteristics are needed to maximise the efficacy of an intervention.
