ISPAD Prize for ISPAE's IDEAL program

International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) awards ISPAE Diabetes Education and Learning (IDEAL) the 2023 “Innovation in Pediatric Diabetes Care” Prize!

IDEAL Core Committee: Dr Anju Virmani, Dr Shaila Bhattacharyya, Dr Santhosh Olety, Dr Sirisha Kusuma Boddu, Dr Preeti Singh, Ms. Sheryl Salis, Dr Aspi Irani, Dr Ahila Ayyavoo, Dr Rakesh Kumar.

The Indian Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Endocrinology (ISPAE) is pleased to announce that it is a flagship program for training pediatric diabetes educators, “IDEAL” has been awarded the prestigious “Innovation in Pediatric Diabetes Care” Prize by the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) for the year 2023.

Children and young people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) need a lifetime of imparting and reinforcing extensive diabetes education to handle the complex self-care necessary. The paucity of health-care personnel trained in this area causes them and their families to suffer needlessly. To fill this niche but important gap, IDEAL was started in October 2021 as an intensive, virtual yet interactive program, conducted by over 60 committed faculties from all over India.

IDEAL’s incredible journey from a hesitant, virtual course started for the first t ime i n t he w orld, t o a c onfident, IS PAD award-winning, training program has been made possible by the expertise, dedication, and hard work of the IDEAL faculty and the intense involvement of the trainees. So far, four batches of educators and two of physicians, mostly pediatricians (the 6^th batch is ongoing), have been trained. We have been able to reach beyond the metros, to smaller cities, improving the care provided and thus health and quality of life of hundreds of children, adolescents, and adults with T1D and their families.

We would like to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to each faculty member for their knowledge and commitment, in building and conducting the IDEAL course; and hope to receive continued support. We are equally grateful to the trainees, now certified pediatric diabetes educators (PDEs) and IDEALites, who worked hard during the programs, and now continue to teach and motivate us, as they work in different parts of India, winning laurels and awards for their excellence. The IDEALite family is slowly gathering force to better the lives of the children of our country and beyond, developing sorely needed spin-offs to carry the movement further.

The entire IDEALite family sincerely thanks ISPAD for this honor. It will motivate us to work harder in advancing awareness and advocacy in the pediatric diabetes space.