The BARP Charitable Trust – the charitable arm of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) – will host a seminar on “Living with Diabetes: The Role of Social Support” on Thursday, October 20, at the Carrington Wesleyan Holiness Church, Welches, St. Michael, from 10.30 to 11.15 a.m.

Simply stated, social support is care and assistance available from other people or institutions. This support, both perceived and actual, carries many important benefits to our health and wellbeing.

The scholarship award enabled her to graduate from the Faculty of Medical Science at the University of the West Indies with a Master’s Degree in Public Health. The subject of her thesis was “The Perceived Role of Social Support among the Elderly living with Diabetes”.  The focus of the research has been to examine what social services are available to help diabetic patients manage the disease.

The seminar is being organized by the Education and Training Committee of the Trust and is open to all BARP members, and other interested persons. It is free, but donations towards the work of the Trust will be gratefully accepted.

Participants will be able to attend in-person or online, and may register by emailing milagro@caribsurf.com by Tuesday, October 18.

When registering, persons should indicate if they wish to participate in person or online, so that Zoom access arrangements may be made available.

According to the rationale for Ms. Hinds’ research, the prevalence of diabetes in Barbados has been rising. In particular, type 2 diabetes is a growing problem among the elderly, with their proportion of diabetics rising from 10.2% in 2013 to 13.57% in 2019.