September 6, 2012

A joint project between the University of Dundee, NHS Tayside and partners in Scotland and Kuwait to tackle diabetes in the Middle East has been shortlisted as `International Collaboration of the Year’ in the Times Higher Education Awards 2012.

Tayside is internationally recognised as having arguably the best information and knowledge of a diabetes population anywhere in the world and the clinical network model developed in the region has consistently demonstrated improved outcomes for people with diabetes.

The Tayside model is one which has now been customised and implemented to bring about a similar effect in Kuwait, through a partnership between the University of Dundee, NHS Tayside and Aridhia Informatics (a spinout company from the University) in Scotland with the Dasman Diabetes Institute and the Ministry of Health in Kuwait.

It has been estimated that up to 1 in 4 of the adult population of Kuwait suffers from the disease. This equates to almost 700,000 Kuwaitis.

The partnership approach between Dundee and Kuwait has already seen all primary health care clinics and hospitals in the capital region linked to the Kuwait Health Network, bringing the benefits of an electronic health record to a population of 600,000 patients.

There are now also over 100 Masters students on Dundee-accredited degree programmes working in healthcare in Kuwait, mainly in primary care, so that learning can be applied at the sharp end of clinical practice.

The partnership is helping educate people within the Kuwaiti healthcare system so they can be equipped to help put new systems in place and make them sustainable for the future. A primary goal is to enable them to make this change and then manage what is needed for the future themselves.

Now in their eighth year, the Times Higher Education Awards are a highlight of the academic calendar and a celebration of the best in UK higher education.

For more information see: http://www.the-awards.co.uk/

Press release by University of Dundee http://www.dundee.ac.uk/pressreleases/2012/september12/kuwait.htm

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