Priority 3: Improve the prevention, management and treatment of diabetes
The Toronto Central LHIN has a high rate of diabetes, with 9.8 per cent of residents 20 years and older living with the disease. People with diabetes tend to have poorer overall health than the general population and often develop other conditions. In fact, diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke and end-stage kidney disease.
By acting on these priorities, we will achieve the following results:
• Fewer people will develop serious and life-threatening complications including cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and nerve damage.
• People will be better informed about the risks of diabetes, healthy choices and where they can access the services they need.
• People with the highest needs will have better access to culturally appropriate services, in their own language.
Yet few diabetes services are available in high-needs neighbourhoods outside the downtown core even though Toronto Central LHIN has a high concentration of health care practitioners.
How will achieving this priority transform the Toronto Central LHIN health system?
Eighty per cent of diabetes is preventable, and the development of complications from other diseases is also preventable. By acting on this priority, we will:
- Reduce the demand on our health system by helping people with diabetes manage their disease and prevent the onset of other diseases.
- Give the Toronto Central LHIN a powerful testing ground for chronic disease management and integrated health care.
- Demonstrate the potential of e-health through the introduction of technology-based screening and management tools.
- Enhance health equity in the Toronto Central LHIN. Diabetes disproportionately affects visible minorities, low-income groups and marginalized populations in our communities. For example, 10 to 20 per cent of the region’s South Asians and 22 per cent of Aboriginal people aged 65 and older have diabetes.