Diabetes Education, Your Way

Pictured: The DAFNE Team, Diabetes Day Centre, St James’s Hospital.

Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition which requires on-going self-management. Even with input and education from the diabetes team, management of Type 1 diabetes is not always easy and everyday life can have challenging effects on blood glucose levels. With this in mind, the Diabetes Day Centre in St James’s Hospital is committed to providing high quality education to support those living with Type 1 diabetes in a way that suits their lifestyle.

DAFNE, an acronym meaning ‘dose adjustment for normal eating’, is a structured group education programme. DAFNE aims to help adults with type 1 diabetes lead as normal a life as possible, whilst also maintaining blood glucose levels within healthy targets, to reduce the risk of long-term diabetes complications. The programme upskills people living with Type 1 diabetes to deal with the daily ups and downs of matching insulin to carbohydrate and to blood glucose levels, in various situations, including when exercising and unwell. The learning is interactive and is very much about putting theory into practice in a safe environment. The course is delivered by dietitians and diabetes nurses.

• People who have completed the course have reported:
• Feeling more confident in managing their diabetes
• Improved blood glucose levels
• Increased flexibility in food and drink choices.

St James’s Hospital is one of 22 centres delivering the programme across Ireland since becoming a DAFNE centre in 2023. What’s more, this level of diabetes education has never been more accessible to patients. Our team of specialists are concurrently running the DAFNE programme in a face-to-face format, as well as offering the option to attend the session virtually – something particularly convenient for those who prefer a more self-directed approach to learning or those who struggle to commit to in-person sessions due to work or family obligations.

To find out more, visit the DAFNE website to watch videos of patients recall their experience of attending a course.

It’s never too late to complete a DAFNE course – DAFNE is recommended for everyone living with type 1 diabetes, no matter how long you have been diagnosed!

For more information, please contact the Diabetes Day Centre at diabetesdaycentre@stjames.ie.