The Russell Berrie Galilee Diabetes SPHERE During War

The Russell Berrie Galilee Diabetes SPHERE has been very active since the outbreak of the "Swords of Iron" War on October 7, 2023. Below is a brief summary. You can learn more on their Facebook page, LinkedIn account, and YouTube channel.

Clinical consultation for family doctors regarding the best way to treat diabetes patients these trying days

Since the beginning of the war, SPHERE's diabetes experts, Prof. Naim Shehade, Dr. Afif Nachla and Prof. Julio Weinstein, have provided and continue to provide individual and immediate clinical advice to family doctors of the various HMOs operating in the Galilee regarding optimal patient care at this time.

Support program for diabetes, pre-diabetes and obesity patients in a state of war or under continuous states of stress

SPHERE has produced, with the Israeli Diabetes Association, a guide for managing diabetes in a state of war and continuous stress. In this guide, the mechanisms behind the harmful effect of the state of mental stress on our bodies are presented, and practical tools are offered from experts whose aim is to help prevent or reduce the negative impact on health. 

The guide was released in digital and printed versions, in Hebrew and Arabic, and so far over ten thousand copies have been distributed among diabetics in the Galilee region and demand continues, with additional copies printed and distributed. The guide consists of a combination of text and videos from professionals in the fields of nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and pharmacy.

A team of diabetes specialist doctors and diabetes nurses on behalf of SPHERE are offering telephone advice to evacuees in hotels in the north in addition to a hotline that is coordinated with the supervisors of the evacuees from the Ministry of Health. Glucometers were also sent to hotels in Haifa and Hadera.

Support for municipal health workers during an emergency

SPHERE began its journey two years ago, working with five local authorities: Safed, Nof HaGalil, Nazareth, Shafaram and Sahnin. About six months ago, SPHERE was chosen to lead, together with the Ministry of Health, a joint project to establish "health units" in 20 local authorities, as part of the government's decision to reduce disparities in Arab society.

Currently, a SPHERE team is in the field and is accompanying authorities who together provide answers to more than 600,000 people. The support includes: complex mapping processes; data cross-checking between the health system and official data; building a strategic plan adapted to each authority to deal with diabetes and obesity and accompanying directors in the field of health with the implementation.

With the outbreak of the war, SPHERE team members identified the challenges in the transition from routine health management to an emergency, and built an appropriate intervention plan.

Within a week, SPHERE created a digital platform that allows for the mapping of the field in terms of health. The mapping refers to the health services provided, the state of the health infrastructure in the shelters and the health needs of the population. SPHERE's team, together with medical students from the Faculty, helped the directors of health units to collect the essential information.
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Participation in international conferences in the field of diabetes

October

At the annual conference of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes EASD, which took place in early October in Germany and was attended by diabetes experts from all over the world, Prof. Naim Shehadeh, Director of SPHERE, presented the results of an international multicenter study in which 94 centers from 21 countries participated. In this study, the efficacy and safety of a drug from the SGLT2 family (Dapagliflozin) was proven in type 2 diabetes patients whose age ranges from 10-17 years.

This research is a medical breakthrough that will increase the medicinal arsenal intended for patients of this age and will improve treatment options, balance and prevention of disease complications for this age group.

November

At the Future of Precision Medicine Symposium attended by diabetes experts from around the world, in collaboration with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the Novo Nordisk Foundation in Denmark, Dr. Sivan Spitzer, deputy director of SPHERE, presented remotely her work dealing with the transition from identifying the gaps to creating a new platform For community-based personalized medicine, a link to the lecture can be found here.

International Diabetes Day

This year, in light of the war, the activities were not conducted as usual. On November 14, 2023, International Diabetes Day, SPHERE held a virtual conference in collaboration with the Israeli Diabetes Association, which was attended by about a thousand patients, about diabetes and its complications, treatments, innovations and dealing with emergencies. See here.