Diabetes UK and the British Muslim Heritage Centre team up to tackle health inequalities in Manchester

Addressing common health inequalities amongst Muslims with type 2 diabetes is at the forefront of a new partnership which was formed to improve diabetes care for ethnic minority communities in Greater Manchester.

Diabetes UK and the British Muslim Heritage Centre have joined forces to raise awareness of the risks associated with type 2 diabetes in order to reduce the number of Muslims being diagnosed with the condition.

As part of their collaboration, the organisations have developed the Diabetes Inclusion Network and delivered webinars to engage with key community leaders.

The British Muslim Heritage Centre has also worked in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement, the Strategic Clinical Network, Diabetes UK and Salford University, to deliver a project that reached out to Muslims in Greater Manchester through community influencers such as prominent women managers, Imams and cultural community centre managers.

According to the organisations, this project has helped to ensure that people across Greater Manchester have access to accurate, culturally sensitive and relevant information at a local level, with signposting to health services as appropriate.

Yvonne Browne, North West Improving Care Manager at Diabetes UK said: “This has been an incredibly valuable piece of work, supporting people from across local communities to have a better awareness of diabetes, the risks of developing type 2 diabetes and importantly, how we can reduce those risks. It demonstrates how vital it is to work closely with the communities we are trying reach”.

The objective and outcomes of the project included:

• Undertaking a mapping exercise of Muslim groups, Mosques and organisations within Greater Manchester. A Greater Manchester Muslim Organisations Directory was produced with the name and contacts of groups including mosques and their roles in the ten boroughs in the region.

• ‘Training the trainers’ sessions were organised for women and for mixed groups. A total of 49 people (25 women and 24 men) were trained as trainers.
• Establishing a Greater Manchester Imam’s Network to help deliver the key diabetes prevention messages. A khutbah narrative was included in the training pack for the Imams.
• Supporting the trainers to cascade the training across the ten boroughs, linking to the local communities that can support them, including providing peer to peer support. Training is carried out in Bengali and Urdu, targeting those who may find it difficult to communicate in English.
• Developing a training pack that the Muslim community could relate to, based on the teaching of the Qu’ran and practical actions of the Prophet Muhammed. A core group was established with some of the women influencers and Imams and Diabetes UK to seek their advice on what should be included in the pack and the best way the training could be delivered.
• Promoting key messages to the Muslim community – including through social media and local community radio.

In 2022, the main aim of the programme will be to support Muslim communities across Greater Manchester, alongside other faith groups such as the Sikh and Jewish communities, in tackling health inequalities through meaningful and appropriate information, training and guidance.

The approach will be two-way and will provide an opportunity to learn and better understand the issues that lead to health inequalities, so solutions can be co-produced with local residents to maximise impact.

Diabetes UK actively works to improve care and create better access to community support for people affected by diabetes and for those at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The British Muslim Heritage Centre is at the forefront of supporting the Muslim community across Greater Manchester and beyond.

For more information about the projects, please email deborah.drinkall@diabetes.org.uk.

Photo by sefa ozel