Nourishing one’s body in a balanced and healthy way is not only known to stave off diabetes, but also to prevent further health complications. Its impact affects even mental health, including mood swings.

At APSA, we treat participants like family and work with them by giving them the right tools to empower them to make immediate changes that are sustainable for the long-term, whilst ensuring a good quality of life.

A nutrition workshop runs over a period of 7 weeks, 1/2 day a week, and is conducted by a registered dietitian and a registered psychologist.

In addition to the nutrition workshop, participants also benefit from a series of free healthy cooking classes, a guided supermarket nutrition tour, a personalised dietary and psychology consultation, as well as a blood test.

Activities

• Theory and practical sessions
• Supermarket guided tours to understand and read food labels
• Laboratory tests
• Individual consultations with a health professional

Metabolic Syndrome is a medical term for a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and obesity, which is becoming increasingly common. This cluster of conditions is associated with a sedentary lifestyle and an imbalanced food energy intake. In Mauritius, diabetes prevalence amongst people with known diabetes is 23%.  However, many are unaware that they have diabetes, until certain related complications arise.

A healthy lifestyle is one of the major aspects in effectively managing diabetes. The Self-Care Education program provides the necessary information and skills for people to properly manage the disease with its related health conditions. It is tailored to meet each individual’s needs, goals, and life experiences. Patients learn how to eat healthily, become physically active, monitor their blood sugar levels, regularly take medication, actively reduce the risk factors for other health conditions, and how to cope with the emotions experienced when personally facing diabetes. Instruction in self-management intends to help patients acquire and maintain the skills needed in living with a chronic disease effectively and pro-actively.

Since 2004, APSA has been offering an innovative approach in therapeutic education in collaboration with international consultants, to empower the patient towards making long-term healthy lifestyle choices.

Activities

• Therapeutic education group sessions focusing on topics such as learning to control cardio-vascular risks, starting on insulin, preventing foot complications, and managing physical activity.
• Conversational map to help participants develop an overall understanding of diabetes and how to manage it.