BRIDGES

This community-based Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) program endeavors to help people with diabetes in the Philippines acquire the knowledge, self-care practices, and attitudes required for the effective management of diabetes. It offers culturally-appropriate, cost-effective, and comprehensive diabetes care by using locally modified educational materials and tapping support from barangay health workers (BHW). This pilot study is part of a long-term, self-sustaining diabetes program which aims at reducing the burden of diabetes by improving physiologic and behavioral parameters. It aspires to be a “model of community diabetes care” throughout the country, ultimately attenuating disparities in health outcomes for underserved Filipinos in the rural community.