The fight against diabetes has today been given a major boost with the launch of the first national map monitoring the spread of diabetes in Australia.
The Australian Diabetes Map uses groundbreaking information technology to present population data about Australians diagnosed with diabetes. The map is an online service launched by Diabetes Australia and will be available to everyone including healthcare professionals, politicians, communities and researchers to help bring a better understanding of the disease. The map can be searched by location, electorate, state, postcode and suburb and also provides breakdowns by gender, age and type of diabetes.
Diabetes Australia Chief Executive Officer Matt O’Brien said, “In the lead-up to World Diabetes Day on Friday we are proud to be launching this new national resource which will play an important role in developing and delivering effective management and prevention strategies to turn the diabetes epidemic around. The map will constantly update us as new cases of diabetes are diagnosed and will show where diabetes problems are greatest.”
The Australian Diabetes Map data is sourced from the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) Registrant database and has been developed in partnership with Hands-on Systems using Microsoft virtual Earth technology.
The map shows that there are currently 918,218 people diagnosed with diabetes in Australia and registered with the NDSS.
Nationally, the map profile reveals:
|
Group |
No. |
|
Type 1 |
128,652 |
|
Type 2 |
709,919 |
|
Gestational |
75,897 |
|
Other |
3,750 |
|
Female |
443,729 |
|
Male |
474,491 |
This type of information is also available for each state, postcode, suburb and electorate in Australia, with a comparison to the national average.
“There are some sobering statistics laid out in this map but it is heartening to know that this tool will be able to assist with the design of new health delivery platforms, prioritise interventions and assess their effectiveness and guide financial support to further improve outcomes for people with diabetes,” Mr O’Brien said.
Members of the Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group will attend the launch of the map in Parliament House Canberra where they will be given demonstrations on how to use the map to monitor diabetes in their own electorates.
With the World Diabetes Day global campaign calling on the community to ‘Unite for Diabetes’, Diabetes Australia will be working with the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute to continue evolving the map to include other data from the landmark AusDiab study showing the prevalence of risk factors for type 2 diabetes which will provide a more comprehensive view of diabetes in Australia.
Associate Director of the Baker IDI Associate Professor Jonathan Shaw said, “The Australian Diabetes Map gives us an unprecedented opportunity to see where care is most needed. It is planned that it will also include geographic data on the location of relevant health care services so gaps in provision in relation to the burden of diabetes can be identified.
“Our role will be to assist Diabetes Australia in understanding and interpreting the data, and to provide expert advice on how other data sources can be used to continue to develop the national picture of diabetes.”
Dr David Dembo, Health & Social Services Leader at Microsoft Australia said ‘This visual and user friendly map demonstrates how Microsoft technology is helping to deliver valuable tools to healthcare providers and policy makers to offer improvements and change for people with diabetes. By providing better visual communications of Australians diagnosed with diabetes, it not only helps raise awareness, but also provides an opportunity to share best practice solutions as well as identifying trends and patterns that fall outside the national average.”
The map can be accessed from today at: www.diabetesmap.com.au