 If I could have everybody's attention. If you're here for the session entitled The Role of Open Access Education in Combatting Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes, you'll notice there are six or seven handouts to the table that I'm motioning towards, that you can come up and grab those handouts and we'll be discussing some of them during the presentation. But if you have intended to attend this session, I appreciate your attendance, and I hope that you'll get something out of this. And so with that, let's begin the presentation. So I am the executive director of Diabetes Education for All. It is a health-based, nonprofit foundation focused on diabetes specifically. We are focused on creating awareness around mitigation strategies in combating diabetes, as well as creating communities of practice, specifically in low-income regions of the world, where there is less equity in terms of access to insulin and other resources. Similarly, the basic objectives for today. Our first objective is to delve into the current 10 trends in diabetes prevalence by examining the present landscape, as well as highlighting the urgency for proactive intervention and prevention strategies. We'll be looking at some of the statistics that explore and emphasize the pressing need for action. And finally, we'll discuss the role of open access education, which is kind of the common theme for the general conference in terms of the form of education has as a proven instrument, not only in preventing diabetes, but also effectively managing it. We'll delve into why this approach is so impactful in empowering individuals and communities. So let's start at the very basic bare bones. What is diabetes and pre-diabetes? Well, diabetes is a chronic condition marked by consistently high levels of glucose in the blood. This condition arises when the body struggles to regulate the blood sugar levels effectively. Pre-diabetes, on the other hand, is a precursor stage to diabetes. Individuals with pre-diabetes have elevated blood sugar levels, but they haven't yet reached the threshold that would identify a diagnosis of having diabetes. This stage serves as a very critical crucial warning sign. Some of the very basic risk factors for diabetes are genetic predisposition, sedentary lifestyle, poor dietary habits, obesity, socioeconomic factors, and access to health care. And you can kind of see through some of those that I've mentioned that there'd be a much greater impact in terms of low income regions of the world and where access to basic technology and information is lacking. The impact of diabetes and pre-diabetes. So there's a profound impact that diabetes and pre-diabetes have on individuals and society at large. First, in terms of health consequences, these conditions can lead to a range of serious complications, including heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and vision loss. The economic burden is also very substantial. The economic burden is emphasized based on kind of the imports of investing in prevention measures and education such that there isn't an outweighing kind of impact on society at large and in general access to health care based on being able to prevent conditions that are if caught at an early stage. Finally, there's a notable social impact. So individuals dealing with diabetes often experience a reduced quality of life. Moreover, it can place a significant burden on families and support networks. This highlights the need for community-wide initiatives and support systems. We'll talk a little bit about this when we talk about communities of practice. Here we have a number of statistics. So in this section, you'll see, and I won't go through all of them obviously, you can kind of see through a closer look at diabetes statistics from the year 2021 when these figures were compiled. This is a snapshot that serves as a foundation of the pressing and critical need to address diabetes. And as we just discussed on the prior slide, how the prevalence of diabetes is a leading factor to a lot of other body-based illnesses to the heart, kidney, and so on. Communities of practice. So community of practice, as you can see on the slide, is a group of people that form a common profession, come from a common profession of interest, area, and share knowledge and experiences with each other such that they can improve the professional goals and generally live a better lifestyle through sharing of information and general collaborative spirit. So one of the most things that I think are instrumental about communities of practice is it's fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth by leveraging the collective wisdom of the group. No one person is more important than the other. Everybody has something to share. And the more that you foster these communities of practice, the more information and access to resources is increased and serves as a societal benefit. So why is DFA's work so important? Well, this slide, in my view, encapsulates the crucial reasons why the work of DFA holds immense significance in the realm of diabetes management and education. Firstly, it's about democratizing education and capacity building tools. This is through open access, nothing behind a paywall, nothing being charged. This is about having access to lifesaving strategies and information and tools to be able to implement on your everyday lives and to be able to assist those that are taking care, our caregivers or health care professionals to those that are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes. DFA also endeavors to create a diabetes specific community of practice. These communities of practice that we discussed are collaborative spaces where stakeholders come together. One of our main focus areas, if not our most important one, is our focus on low income regions of the world and especially humanitarian settings. On our website, we work with a lot of different organizations, which we'll highlight a little later on to be able to provide switching guides in multiple languages and across technological competencies and various internet access levels. This is the DFA portal. So just touching on a couple of the very basic things, you'll see a group of courses that you can toggle through that are online learning. There are learning communities that really incentivize what we've discussed with communities of practice, CME credits, private groups, video conferencing, multilingual content, very mobile app, mobile friendly, and various kind of bat bandwidths. So if you're on a lower internet connection, it'll adjust for your specific speed. Mitigating the risk, the rise of diabetes. So this slide is really pivotal in understanding how we can collectively work together towards mitigating the rise of diabetes. Some of these strategies are early detection and intervention. This is the first step in really encouraging regular checkups and screenings. This proactive approach allows for early identification of potential issues and can assist obviously in kind of being a blunting force to those that have pre-diabetes from developing diabetes and for those to go into that pre-diabetes range. Secondly, we are promoting healthier lifestyles. So this is a cornerstone in diabetes prevention and it's the adoption of healthier lifestyles which involves not only promoting balanced diets but also advocating for regular physical activity. And finally, community workshops and webinars. You'll see kind of a pattern through some of the stuff we've been talking with communities that practice, collaboration, basically communities where people can share information and resources and be able to improve the collective lives of those individuals. Open access education. So this slide highlights the critical concept of up and access education in the context of diabetes and pre-diabetes. As a very basic definition, open access education refers to the provision of education materials and resources without any associated cost or restriction. This means that anyone regardless of financial or social circumstances can access these resources freely. This inclusivity is really key in ensuring the vital information is available to all. Importance. So this is the significance of open access education which cannot be overstated and empowers individuals with the knowledge and skills in order to provide self-care as well as prevention and care for others that may be lacking in information or wherewithal accessibility. Open access education is made available through various channels. This also includes online platforms which offer a wealth of resources at one's fingertips. And finally, preventative measures and those benefits that can be gleaned from them. One of the most crucial benefits of open access education is its role in preventing certain diseases and other risk factors that can arise. What are the benefits of open access education? Well, empowering in patients this open access education provides patients with essential tools as well as knowledge about diabetes risk factors enabling them to be proactive in managing their own health and ultimately serving as a tool of self-empowerment. Raising awareness. So this is the potential to be able to reach diverse populations with critical information in a very time sensitive manner. We see this with a lot of humanitarian settings that are ongoing now across the world ensuring that even though there is maybe a lack of resources there are different mitigation strategies that can be provided to at least make one situation a little better if those are individuals that are dealing with prediabetes or diabetes. And finally, community engagement. So through open access education we have the opportunity to foster a culture of health and support within communities that encourages individuals to come together. So what are some examples of open access resources? I won't go too much into this. Obviously I have websites, web-based platforms DFA being one of them access to expert articles and webinars, mobile applications, blood sugar monitoring. This basically is kind of a means to be able to provide resources, information in all facet of learning styles for individuals and comfortability levels. So this is a means to impact all types of individuals and how they like to consume information. DFA's future approach. So this slide gives us a glimpse into the future approach of DFA. DFA is only roughly three years old. And so this is centered around the future state mapping which involves envisioning the future impact of our initiatives, looking towards some of the case studies that will illustrate and provide potential positive outcomes. This is basically funding and providing support to individuals and communities that provide benefit to one another to provide open access education and sharing of information that may not be in the mainstream but can kind of through sharing information be able to identify what is best for different communities and different regions of the world based on access to resources. Lower A1C levels through online diabetes management tools similar to technology, information is also extremely key and being able to inform individuals to be able to provide some self-care and understand how their diabetes impacts them specifically. Everybody's body is a little bit differently, functions differently. And finally, reduce diabetes incidents through open access workshops and community initiatives. What are some challenges and solutions? Well, there are language barriers, right? And to address that challenge, we have multilingual resources that are available. Secondly, technological access, being able to provide and fund community computer centers where individuals maybe aren't of a certain socioeconomic status to have a computer in their home. And obviously, some, a lot of this doesn't apply to us in the Western world. A lot of this is kind of speaking to the low income regions of the world and combating misinformation through fact checking resources and different resources such as that that are vetted by experts. So how do we address specific populations that are of greatest need? Well, obviously, some of the most at risk in the current society are children and adolescents. And so it's crucial to engage young individuals in diabetes education early on so they can develop good and healthy eating habits and kind of general healthy lifestyle so they can maintain that and move forward. And so the incidents of diabetes will not proliferate as it has over the last 10 to 15 years. Underserved communities, recognizing the unique challenges faced by underserved communities such as maybe low income cities, low income regions of the world that are considered in many ways, food deserts and don't have a lot of options. Being able to provide resourcing to that as well as being able to be able to mitigate some of that through some creative strategies. And by addressing these specific populations with tailored approaches, we really look to make a meaningful impact in preventing and managing diabetes among children and other really at risk groups in not only the US but around the world. The future of open access education and diabetes. I'm sure you've seen a lot of this similar stuff through other presentations that aren't necessarily focused on health or diabetes but a lot of these factors they emanate throughout the different concepts. So this slide really points to the promising future of open access education in the field of diabetes. Firstly, amongst the potential for growth with advancements in technology and potential for strategic community partnerships, being able to reach out to open access education via open access education, we can expand exponentially and embrace kind of digital platforms and make really democratize information ultimately. Research and innovation. This year in June, there's a scientific sessions for the American Diabetes Association and it's really heartening to see all the new innovative research that's being done out there that is done in a very thoughtful manner that ultimately bring about new health trials, clinical trials and new drugs and technology that have a massive impact. And finally, professionalized paths to progress, establishing high level collaborations with shared standards and resources. You can kind of see this if some of you are familiar with American Diabetes Association. Every year, they create the standards of care and they update that on a biannual basis and targets and ranges are updated and it's really helpful to really have a vetted source that brings together endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, all kinds of health professionals and researchers to provide the best information possible that can be implemented amongst everyday general doctors that provide services to people living with diabetes. Policy recommendations. Well, obviously a lot of these are very standard and kind of self-explanatory. Funding for open access initiatives. When you find something that works, it's important to foster kind of to be able to grow those things that are really having a positive impact and that's part of really funding open access initiatives. Integration into healthcare systems, the collaboration between healthcare providers and educational institutions is really essential. It's the integration that ensures that education about diabetes is seamlessly woven into broader healthcare frameworks. So if you go for a general checkup, you'll get information about diabetes and things that may be leading information that can help you make healthier lifestyle decisions. And generally public awareness campaigns which can be fostered through any number of mediums. So what are DEFAS contributions? Well, we are a young organization but we're really thoughtful about kind of the type of work we'd like to take on and the priorities that we try to foster. So the first real big pillar is general awareness of diabetes. And so this is actively involved in raising general awareness through various creation of information, partnerships with other organizations like Insulin for All, the Diabetes Dessert Response Coalition, IATA and so on and so forth. These resources are really thoughtfully designed for healthcare providers and also tailored to the individuals that are gonna be using them. Obviously, if you're creating something for individuals that are managing their diabetes on their own that don't necessarily have a health background, you want to be a little bit more kind about how you relate that information so that that information isn't a steep learning curve. DEFAS community groups and communities of practice. So these are platforms that serve as valuable spaces that that's such where we don't need to have intermediaries or kind of quote unquote experts to mediate discussions and so on and so forth. There can be a shared, general kind of free will to share kind of information that's known. And finally, creation of kind of homelessness resources. The homeless population, not only in the US, but around the world, they suffer from a lot of diseases, illnesses that are easily preventable and it's about really finding ways in a very intuitive fashion to give them the information, resourcing knowledge to be able to as best as possible in their tough situation to provide care for themselves and help others in their same situation and hopefully transition out of that situation. Conflicts and natural disasters. So this slide really highlights the commendable efforts of DEFAS in responding to conflicts and natural disasters, particularly in low income regions and settings of the world. So let's examine kind of some of these contributions. So there's partnerships, as I mentioned, for disaster response with the Diabetes Disaster Response Coalition, which is made up of four groups, including DEFAS and we create an update switching guides and humanitarian conflicts and be able to provide that in multiple languages and really make information and access to resources as prevalent as possible. And insulin for all to kind of highlight them, they on a yearly basis, they have at least 300 huge shipments of insulin, free of charge that they send to hurricane regions, humanitarian settings around the world and they're doing a lot of great work currently, whether it's the floods in Libya or the earthquake in Turkey and so on. And finally, kind of outreach to healthcare workers and affected individuals, really being able to identify those individuals in tough situations that need the most assistance, so that such that they can be able to support individuals that look up to them and seek information and make it a little easier for them to serve larger kind of groups of people where it's really not as convenient to do one-on-one kind of work. So here we have the Diabetes 360 Guide and you guys came up to the table and even if you want to afterwards, this is a three by five note card. There's a QR code that takes you directly to our website. If you want to show that, if that's possible. It'll take you directly here. You'll see the different topics that are covered within this. This is a 137 slide document that really goes into every conceivable aspect of diabetes and it covers it from high complexity to a very basic knowledge. The basis of this, if you scroll through, these are resources that are meant for doctors to be able to provide to their patients on general regular checkups. It's for clinics and other large institutions to be able to blow them up as posters. And this is all vetted and consistent with the 2023 American Diabetes Association Standards of Care for Diabetes. We're always updating this which you'll notice in general education, if you go down a lot of resources, there couldn't be good content but if it's not demonstrated and displayed in a very intuitive and aesthetic fashion, we lose interest, right? And so this is a way to provide that education in a way that is really, really helpful. So I really hope this is kind of very new. Hope you guys will kind of access this, especially if you have any individuals you care about that deal with diabetes. And this is just really something I think we're really proud of and something that we hope to be able to co-brand with other organizations in the future. So with that, I think we have a few minutes left. We have general questions in discussion. I hope I didn't speak too much, but if there are any questions or even just comments, experiences that some of you guys may have with diabetes or your thoughts on it or any comments on the presentation, please feel free. I guess that means that I did a pretty good job. Finally, the last slide as we have, let me see, I think there's one. Oh, that's okay. Just a big thank you. 53 years, type one diabetic. Still learning to take care of myself. So great to see open education. And I also, I'm curious, I follow mildly some of the open source solutions that people have found to sort of create like the closed glucose monitoring systems. And it's just a fabulous statement about what is possible. And also really some of the greatest support came from online communities where people just so freely give and share not only knowledge and information, I've had people send me things that I can't get where I live right now. So this is a wonderful component to add to this mix. Thank you very much. Yeah, I think there's one thing I would add to that. I think there's almost a multi-tiered approach to this. There's so much technology, so much information out there. Sometimes we don't know what to cover. Various organizations, the World Health Organization, ADA, other groups are really doing a great job of trying to synthesize the best of the best. And I think amongst a lot of the kind of national organizations, the ADA does a great job in, we're actually founded our chairwoman, El Sayed. She is a kind of a very esteemed Harvard endocrinologist and she's the chairwoman of DEFA, but she's also the vice president of healthcare improvement for the ADA. And she's kind of at the forefront of all the standards development and so on. So she's really a great help to really allow DEFA to be at the forefront of a lot of these things. But I really appreciate your comments and kudos to you for kind of managing your diabetes so well. I won't mention the price gouging of insulin that goes on in the world. Yes, yeah, absolutely. So. I have a question. Yeah. Sorry, do we have time for one more question? Yeah, absolutely. Okay, thank you so much for this great presentation. I am a parent of a daughter with type one. And in light of price gouging of insulin and your focus on children and adolescents, I'm really curious if your materials focus on helping youth and adolescents especially see their role in power, in shaping what governments do to support research and innovation and also to make tech available. So I'm curious if there's an organizational change component in your materials. I'm also curious if in the diabetes education curriculum that you're offering, if you're clear about how insulin was developed and how it was originally intended to not carry copyright. So just like both questions, organizational change and then sharing a history that really shines a light on how insulin was intended to be shared. Yeah. I would say organizational change is really the next frontier that has yet to be developed because there have been a lot of organizations that as I mentioned, that don't have a focus on open access. And that's kind of why we continue to say it. So people wanna gate keep information, courses, so on and so forth. None of this is proprietary. And it's the more that we share, the more that we have democratization of this information, the courses and for people to feel free, especially children, to kind of speak about what their experience is, the more it can help the general broader community. And that's really encompassed in communities of practice, terms of insulin. Yeah, that is a very highly debated thing, right? Any time you bring financial benefit into anything, it serves as a possible kind of place to falter. And so those are some things I think that ADA does a good job of, but obviously they could all do better because obviously funding goes into different things and there's different factors, money speaks and really finding the best insulin, not only the best insulin, the lowest costs, the most efficient insulin that lasts the longest, especially for areas that don't have regular refrigeration and so on and so forth. Those are all different factors that hopefully continue to grow and hopefully the best kind of evolve from that and consensus develops around that. And that's kind of the general hope that we have to have, but we can always do more. That's all, thank you so much for those two great questions. I think we're at the end of the presentation. I don't wanna take up too much more of your time, but I would say if you had any interest in kind of what I said, we have free resources here. I would please kind of access the guide, share that with other individuals. If it's of benefit to you, if there's any way that we can kind of collaborate in any fashion, you'll be able to very easily find our social media. With that, thank you very much for all of your time today.