Taking Action on Diabetes

Diabetes Australia - Victoria has launched a new telephone health coaching service to help people take action to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

The new phone coaching service is part of the LIFE! Taking Action on Diabetes suite of programs and is an important step in the fight against a chronic disease with serious complications of heart attack, stroke, kidney damage, blindness and amputations.

The telephone service will offer people who are not able to enrol in a Life! course in person access to counselling towards preventing the onset of Type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects 1.5 million Australians.

Life! telephone coaching is conducted over the phone rather than face-to-face and is staffed by health professionals including dieticians, physiotherapists and health psychologists trained in health coaching for diabetes prevention.

While it is often difficult for people to attend a Life! course, this phone service is a viable alternative and is specially suited for people who live in rural and remote areas, who work shifts or have other commitments that make it difficult to attend a course.

A health coach can call you at home at a time that suits you with follow up calls made 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 5 months after the first health coaching call. It is free to people on low incomes and Aboriginal Australians. For others, a $50 co-payment is required.

What does the Life! course cover?

• The importance of good nutrition and regular physical activity.
• Risk factors for type 2 diabetes and their link to lifestyle.
• Goal setting to assist in the adoption and maintenance of lifestyle changes.
• Linkages to local programs and services to support lifestyle changes.

Life! Taking Action on Diabetes is part of the 'Go for your life' initiative. The Victorian government has committed over $20 million since 2007 in the Life! suite of programs that aims to arrest the growth in type 2 diabetes through lifestyle modification. The program targets at risk Victorians aged over 50 years, at risk adult Indigenous Victorians, people with a history of cardiovascular disease and women who have had gestational diabetes.

Further information

Are you ignoring your risk of type 2 diabetes? Call 13 RISK (13 7475) to find out more. Learn more about the LIFE! Taking Action on Diabetes suite of programs.

Further information on achieving a healthy lifestyle is available from the 'Go for your life' website.