The Aragonese Primary Care Research Group of the IIS Aragón participates in a European project to reduce the impact of type II diabetes

El Aragonese Research Group in Primary Care (GAIAP) of the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón) participates in the 'Care for Diabetes (C4D)' project, a joint action that aims to reduce the impact of type II diabetes by promoting a healthy lifestyle among affected. The project, which will be developed over the next three years, officially kicked off today with a virtual launch meeting.

Specifically, the action consists of implementing a good practice developed by the Dutch NGO Voeding Leef, which will be adapted, implemented and evaluated by 13 countries of the European Union. This good practice has shown that, by acting on personal habits and promoting a healthy lifestyle, good control of type II diabetes is possible, causing a great socio-economic impact in our current environment.

To achieve this, it is proposed to modify the approach focused on the current pharmacological treatment of type II diabetic patients. The new proposal consists of increasing their physical activity, a diet adapted to their needs, promoting rest and encouraging the use of relaxation techniques, promoting autonomy in the control of their illness, and in cases where possible , reduce medication safely. To achieve these changes, participatory workshops will be organized in local pilot projects, aimed at patients with type II diabetes who meet the requirements established for inclusion in the program.

The Spanish Ministry of Health has decided that the Principality's Ministry of Health, in collaboration with SESPA and FICYT, coordinates the joint action 'C4D' at the national level. The Spanish affiliated entities will be the Cantabrian Health Service, the Marqués de Valdecilla Institute Foundation, the Galician Health Department, the Extremadura Government, the Andalusian Health Service and the Andalusian Progreso y Salud Public Foundation, as well as the Aragonese Group of Research in Primary Care (GAIAP), whose main researcher is Rosa Magallón, as an associated entity.

The joint actions (joint actions for its acronym in English) are projects financed by the European Commission under the Community Action Program in the Field of Health and developed jointly by the European Union and one or more member states. These projects develop health-related actions that are considered relevant to obtain a positive impact on the health of the participants.