Learning how to deal with diabetes can be as easy as playing Monopoly, the Taiwan Association of People with Diabetes said yesterday, as it unveiled a pictorial board game designed to help diabetes sufferers.
The Diabetes Conversation Map kit, developed by a US-based health education company and the International Diabetes Federation, comprises four themes taking patients from a basic understanding of the illness to learning how to live with the condition.
To date, the program has been translated into 31 languages and used in 69 countries. A total of 48 hospitals in Taiwan, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Chi Mei Medical Center, are participating in the global program.
According to the Bureau of Health Promotion, Taiwan reports 25,000 new cases of diabetes each year. On average, one person dies of the effects of diabetes every hour and there is one amputation resulting from complications connected with diabetes every two hours.
“Many diabetes patients feel that living with this disease is a nearly impossible uphill battle. But as long as they know about their condition, they can easily learn to cope with it,” said Chang Mei (張媚), associate professor of NTU’s Department of Nursing.
The game is designed for a small group of people. Players are given cards with statements about diabetes and after a group discussion, the players can decide whether they are true or false.
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