BD Medical Diabetes Care in association with Forum for Injection Technique (FIT) India will conduct an awareness drive across the country following the Insulin Injection Day celebrated for the first time on January 11, 2014 at Ahmedabad to mark a novel invention that revolutionised the management of type I diabetes 92 years ago.

FIT India will organize training workshops on insulin injection techniques for nurses and diabetes educators across India in five cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai in collaboration with Research Society for the Study Diabetes in India (RSSDI). Says Prof Subhankar Chowdhury, head, Department of Endocrinology, SSKM Hospital, Kolkata and FIT advisory member, “Insulin remains a critical component of treatment of Diabetes, not only type I but also in many cases of Type II. At present injection remains the only practical means to deliver insulin. It is a welcome move that awareness is being created on Insulin Injection by FIT. This should have a favorable impact on the acceptance of insulin injection among both physicians and patients.”

As per the latest survey, more than 50 per cent of diabetic patients in the country do not adhere to appropriate insulin treatment practices and 48 per cent do not know about right injection techniques.

Highlighting the importance of right injection techniques, Dr Rajeev Chawla, joint secretary, RSSDI and senior consultant  diabetologist explains, “As insulin treatment is vital for blood glucose control, inappropriate injection skills compromise the dosage accuracy and its effectiveness. Moreover, it may also lead to pain with bleeding and risk of contamination.”

Concludes Dr Banshi Saboo, executive committee member, RSSDI, Gujarat Chapter and diabetologist, “There is a need to bring a uniformity in insulin injection techniques throughout the country and help impart the right education to both healthcare providers and people living with diabetes.”

In the past one year, FIT has launched the first ever India specific clinical recommendations for appropriate insulin injection techniques and reached out to more than 100 hospitals and 5000 healthcare providers and patients in India.