One of the island’s leading young medical doctors has developed a creative programme to help in the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Dr Emma Dash, founder of Live Well Clinic, started a three-month 10 000 step challenge.
During a closing ceremony on Saturday at Pelican Village, Dash said she was concerned about the high incidences of Barbadians developing NCDs and she wanted to do something about the issue.
“We can work together to make the numbers come down and ensure Barbados is a more productive society,” she said. “The health of our nation affects every single sector in our society. It is not only about the person that is sick or becomes medically unfit, it is also about the person who has to look after the sick person, so NCDs are becoming a burden on society.”
Dash explained that 160 people took part in the challenge with 80 seeing it to the end. During registration they received medical checks for blood sugar levels, cholesterol and other examinations. They were closely monitored throughout the programme.
“We showed them how to track their steps and they returned in 30 days, then 90 days to get those checks again. We had amazing results, the blood pressure [of the participants] was coming down and people lost up to 30 pounds in 90 days,” she added, pointing out that it was one of the initiatives of her greater low-cost private health-care programme.
“We want to reduce the burden on our public health-care system by providing this low-cost health care. As long as you give people information they can understand, they are willing to [make] a change.”
One of her patients, Joseph Marshall attested to the success of the programme, stating how Dash worked with him to get his high blood pressure to a sense of normalcy.
During the ceremony, the Director of Clinical and Diagnostic Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Dr Corey Forde encouraged Barbadians to make health examinations a frequent activity in their lives and to be responsible during this festive season and eat in moderation.
Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey said exercise was an important aspect of life, stressing that being active from a young age could guarantee a long and healthy life.
Acknowledging that life could get busy and overwhelming at times, he encouraged people to try hard to make their health a priority and develop better eating habits. Doing so, he said, reduces the possibility of developing an illness.
“A lot of the diabetic cases are because of lifestyle choices,” he said.
The 10 000 step challenge got underway in August and a number of the participants received special prizes including laptops, free medical examinations, free car insurance, fuel and car services and kadooment costumes.
Photo by
Sheria Brathwaite.
The challenge will be a biannual event as of next year. (SZB)
The post How Dr Emma Dash is helping to fight NCDs appeared first on Barbados Today.
