Diabetes Care Collaboration: Enhancing Expertise Together

<< Background >>The ARCHEST Project was designed to tackle critical gaps in diabetes management by fostering cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange.With over 33 million people in the EU affected by diabetes, and this number expected to rise to 38 million by 2030, it is crucial to develop more effectiveand accessible strategies. Traditional care models often lack integration between physical activity, nutrition, and holistic patient management, leading todisparities in treatment outcomes across EU countries.The project specifically addressed the need to enhance the best practices of ANIAD Sardegna(Italy) and FPAD (Portugal), two organizations working daily with diabetes patients. Both organizations required enhanced expertise, new methodologies,and a structured approach to integrating sports and nutrition into diabetes care. The project strengthening their skills and expanding the role of patientorganizations in advocacy and self-management support.By sharing best practices, co-developing innovative protocols, and engaging professionals inhands-on training, ARCHEST elevated the quality of diabetes care and promoted inclusive, sustainable, and patient-centered approaches across Europe.<< Objectives >>The ARCHEST Project aimed to improve diabetes care and patient support by fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange. The keyobjectives were:-Develop innovative treatment protocols integrating sports, nutrition, and patient-centered management to improve quality of life.-Strengthen the skills of ANIAD and FPAD staff.-Empower diabetes associations to improve advocacy efforts and inclusivity, combating stigma and ensuring patient engagement.-Produce three key outputs—a Toolkit, a Handbook, and a Trilingual Protocol (English, Italian, Portuguese)—to replicate best practices across Europeand ensure the project’s long-term impact.The ARCHEST project aimed to enhance diabetes care by fostering cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange between professionals. Partnerssought to develop innovative treatment protocols integrating sports, nutrition, and patient-centered management, improving the quality of life forindividuals with diabetes. By strengthening the skills of 30 staff member from ANIAD and FPAD, we aimed to empower diabetes associations, promoteinclusivity, and combat stigma.<< Implementation >>The ARCHEST project implemented key activities to enhance diabetes care through knowledge exchange and collaboration. The kick-off phaseestablished roles, responsibilities, and preparatory work. Two Diabetes Care Synergy events in Portugal and Italy facilitated best practice sharing,integrating sports, nutrition, and innovative treatment protocols. Participants engaged in workshops, cultural exchanges, and hands-on activities to exploredifferent approaches to diabetes management. Finally, a virtual phase focused on finalizing and disseminating project outputs: a toolkit, a handbook, anda trilingual protocol. These activities strengthened the skills of 30 professionals from ANIAD and FPAD, reinforcing their role in advocacy and patientsupport while promoting cross-border collaboration in diabetes care.<< Results >>-n.1 Toolkit-n.1 Handbook-n.1 Trilingual Protocol: English, Italian, and PortugueseThe co-design process of the outputs and the in-person activities enabled the achievement of the objective of developing best practices and strengtheningworking methods among the partner organizations. Moreover, the dissemination of the outcomes will further expand the impact, benefiting Europeanassociations that support diabetic patients and promote advocacy to improve diabetes management.+30% improvement in the skills of 30 participants (15 from ANIAD + 15 from FPAD)Cross-border knowledge transfer, ensuring scalability and replicability of best practices in different healthcare settings.