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DAFNE (Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating): structured education in insulin replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes

H David McIntyre
Med J Aust 2006; 184 (7): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00261.x
Published online: 3 April 2006

This European approach to insulin management is now being introduced in Australia

Since the publication of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) in 1993,1 improved glycaemic control in type 1 diabetes has been acknowledged as a desirable goal in theory, but frustratingly difficult to achieve in practice. Although bodies such as the American Diabetes Association recommend a glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) target of < 7%,2 only around 20% of adults with type 1 diabetes under specialist supervision in Australian centres achieve this goal (data from the Australian National Diabetes Information Audit and Benchmarking Survey; Associate Professor Jeff Flack, Director, Diabetes Centre, Bankstown–Lidcombe Hospital, NSW, personal communication).


  • Mater Health Services, Brisbane, QLD.


Correspondence: david.mcintyre@mater.org.au

Competing interests:

I am Director of the Queensland Diabetes Centre, which runs regular DAFNE courses, and President of the DAFNE Association of Australia, a not-for-profit association which promotes and disseminates the DAFNE method and has received funding from Novo Nordisk (Australia) and Abbott Australasia. I have also received speaker fees and assistance in attending meetings from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly Australia, manufacturers of insulin products.

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