JCU scholarship to help tackle diabetes scourge

James Cook University will help combat alarming rates of diabetes in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through a scholarship fund designed to boost the health educator workforce.

Funded by the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network, the $150,000 scholarship fund enables Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency-registered Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners to undertake a Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education with JCU.

Course Coordinator Elaine Cornford said the scholarship arose out of a need to address the soaring number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people diagnosed with diabetes.

Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics report that one in six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults now live with the disease, with underreporting particularly in regional and remote areas considered very likely.

“The scholarship reduces financial barriers in terms of students having to worry about the cost of undertaking the course,” she said.

“We need increased knowledge of diabetes in health workforce, particularly those in rural and remote communities to support those with diabetes.”

According to the Bureau’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey 2022–24, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with diabetes jumped nearly 40 per cent from 11.1 per cent just over a decade ago to 15.5 per cent.

Ms Cornford said poor access to a skilled health workforce, less access to healthy food and lower screening rates were just some of the contributing factors to the high rates of diabetes in remote communities.

“Being able to have people who are upskilled working in these communities means there is improved equity for people living there who would otherwise not have access to specialist diabetes education and care,” she said.

“Rates of diabetes, diabetes complications and diabetes hospitalisations are disproportionate in rural and remote areas, so if we can have a workforce that lives in these communities and provides culturally safe care, hopefully we’ll see reduced prevalence of the disease in the future and reduced rates of complications as part of a multifaceted public health approach.”

Ms Cornford said the Graduate Certificate was the critical first step for students to become a fully Credentialled Diabetes Educator with the Australian Diabetes Educators Association.

The eight-month course covers a range of areas including foundational principles used by diabetes educators and senior clinicians in everyday practice, and the impact of diabetes across a person’s lifespan and across cultures, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

“Once they’ve solidified the knowledge they’ve built up in their first three subjects, they’ll go on to clinical placement in the final subject where they’ll get a very valuable hands-on diabetes education learning experience. Student feedback from their placement experience is always extremely positive,” she said.

“There’s also a series of case studies where they’ll get exposed to some real world scenarios they’re likely to come across in their future diabetes educator careers.”

Following completion of JCU’s Graduate Certificate, students can then go on to complete the credentialling pathway with the Australian Diabetes Educators Association which includes a professional practice microcredential, a mentoring program, a practical skills assessment and a practical experience requirement.

“It’s quite a rigorous pathway but it ensures they become a fully Credentialled Diabetes Educator at the end of it with the skills and knowledge to deliver specialised and evidenced-based diabetes education and care,” Ms Cornford said.

APHRA-registered Aboriginal Health Practitioner and scholarship recipient Shontelle Grogan-Creed said the course would boost her skillset in the communities she works with in Cape York.

“I always wanted to do further studies and I have an interest in chronic illnesses, so this scholarship was the perfect opportunity,” she said.

“I have family on both sides with diabetes so having had that experience with diabetics allows me to relate when I visit these communities and provide that education.”

Ms Grogan-Creed, who is currently studying a Bachelor of Nursing, said she enjoyed being able to provide valuable support to community members while helping them achieve their goals.

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network Chief Executive Officer Ben Tooth said North Queensland faced some of the highest rates of diabetes in the country - and frontline workers were the key to turning it around.

“Upskilling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners with a Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education is vital to improving early detection, prevention, and managing diabetes in the community,” Mr Tooth said.

“We are proud to partner with James Cook University on this important initiative because we know it will lead to better health outcomes in the future for First Nations people living with or at risk of diabetes.”