Diabetes Research Programme - DM13

The Bangladesh D-Magic Trial. Diabetes Mellitus: Action Through Groups or Information for Better Control?

Project locations: Faridpur District, Bangladesh

Funding organisations

• Medical Research Council, UK

Primary research aim

To evaluate the impact of a) a participatory community mobilisation intervention and b) an mHealth health promotion and awareness intervention on the prevalence of abnormal fasting glucose and diabetes in rural Bangaldesh.

Secondary research aim

To evaluate the effect of a) a participatory community mobilisation intervention and b) a mHealth health promotion and awareness intervention on:

1. Two year cumulative incidence of diabetes mellitus among individuals with abnormal fasting glucose
2. Chronic disease risk factors of high body mass index, hypertension and physical inactivity
3. Blood glucose testing uptake, diabetic status awareness and service utilisation

Research objectives and methodology

Project objectives are presented by project phase.

Formative phase

1. To describe local understandings of diabetes mellitus and identify issues of stigma/status around body size, physical activity and diet among different genders.
2. To conduct a situation analysis and describe healthcare workers’ knowledge and current practices, available equipment, current service uptake, the presence of referral systems and the use of guidelines related to diabetes mellitus in the Faridpur district and compare these to international guidelines and current practice at a large national apex diabetic hospital in Dhaka.
3. To design and document the development and implementation of community mobilisation and mHealth interventions within the study context

Evaluation phase

1. To test the effect of a participatory community mobilisation intervention and a mHealth health promotion intervention on diabetes mellitus disease occurrence, management and risk factors in Faridpur district, Bangladesh.
2. To describe the implementation of mHealth and participatory community groups interventions in Faridpur district in terms of replication and scale up, including the necessary roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders.
3. To cost the interventions and evaluate their potential cost-effectiveness.

Dissemination phase

1. To promote implementation and scale-up of community interventions (as appropriate depending on evaluation findings) through public symposia, engagement with media and through academic and health policy literature.

Project contact: Ed Fottrell – e.fottrell@ucl.ac.uk

Investigators

PIs

• Kishwar Azad, Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Edward Fottrell, University College London, London, UK

Research team

• Anthony Costello, International Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
• Joanna Morrison, University College London, London, UK
• Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli, University College London, London, UK
• Hannah Jennings, University College London, London, UK
• Azad Khan, Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Abdul Kuddus, Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh