This podcast is intended for UK healthcare professionals only. 

In this episode, we focus on the disparities in the management of diabetes patients from ethnic minorities with Prof Wasim Hanif, who is a Professor of Diabetes & Endocrinology and Consultant Physician and Clinical Director for Diabetes at University Hospitals Birmingham.

Prof Wasim Hanif would like his take home messages to be:

1. Understand that variations in care arise not because of the lack of knowledge, but because of the communication skills and attitudes used in dealing with this.
2. Be aware that South Asians carry a large burden of cardiorenal diseases, occurring at a younger age and a lower BMI, and therefore these patients need to be treated more aggressively in order to reduce their risk.
3. The cultural competencies in clinical practices should be mandatories in today’s multi-ethnic society.

Useful links

• Cultural Competency Questionnaire and other useful resources from the South Asian Health Foundation: https://www.sahf.org.uk/resources (last accessed May 2021)

References

1. Diabetes prevalence. Available at: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-prevalence.html (last accessed May 2021)
2. NICE. Type 2 diabetes in adults: management. NICE guideline NG28. 2015. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/chapter/introduction (last accessed May 2021)
3. Hanif W, Susarla R. Diabetes and cardiovascular risk in UK South Asians: an overview. Br J Cardiol. 2018;25(suppl 2):S8–S13. doi:10.5837/bjc.2018.s08.
4. Owusu Adjah ES, et al. Prevalence and incidence of complications at diagnosis of T2DM and during follow-up by BMI and ethnicity: a matched case-control analysis. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2018;15;17(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s12933-018-0712-1.
5. Paul SK, et al. Comparison of body mass index at diagnosis of diabetes in a multi-ethnic population: a case-control study with matched non-diabetic controls. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2017;19(7):1014-1023. doi: 10.1111/dom.12915.
6. Cost of diabetes. Available at: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/cost-of-diabetes.html (last accessed May 2021)
7. Hanif W, et al. Pharmacological management of South Asians with type 2 diabetes: Consensus recommendations from the South Asian Health Foundation. Diabet Med. 2021;38(4):e14497. doi: 10.1111/dme.14497.
8. Office for National Statistics. Language in England and Wales: 2011. 2013. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/languageinenglandandwales/2013-03-04 (last accessed May 2021)
9. Betancourt JR, et al. Cultural competence in healthcare: emerging frameworks and practical approaches. Commonwealth Fund. 2002.