DEqual

Project description

The aim of the Equality in Diabetes Care project is to promote equal access to diabetes care and health literacy knowledge by developing and integrating nursing education in Finland and Thailand. The project focuses especially on strengthening the skills of nursing students and practicing nurses in resource-limited and closed environments, such as prisons. The project is lead by SEAMK in collaboration with Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), and Chulalongkorn University from Bangkok, Thailand. Educational materials produced in the project will be embedded into nursing curricula in both countries, with the goal of extending the impact to other areas of nursing and healthcare education.

On a broader scale, the project strengthens international cooperation and creates scalable solutions to advance equality in diabetes care and health literacy knowledge.

The project lasts 2,5 years and will be implemented from 1 August 2025 to 31 December 2027. The project will include total of three intensive weeks for the educational staff and students from project higher education institutions.

The project is funded by the Team Finland Knowledge programme, Finnish National Agency for Education.

Objectives

The project aims to improve equality in diabetes care and health literacy knowledge by developing educational models that support nursing competence, especially among vulnerable groups. The project will create and pilot teaching materials that are integrated into nursing education in Finland and Thailand. It also seeks to strengthen cooperation between universities and healthcare organizations.

Target group

The target groups are nursing students in Finland and Thailand, practicing nurses in Thailand, and organizations that provide training placements and may be future employers.

Results

The main outputs of the project include the development of educational materials on equality in diabetes care and health literacy knowledge, which will be integrated into nursing curricula in both Finland and Thailand. A key deliverable is the creation and piloting of a 5 ECTS course, specifically designed for nursing students and practicing nurses, with a focus on resource-limited and correctional environments. The materials and practices developed are intended to be scalable and applicable to other areas of nursing and healthcare education, ultimately supporting equal access to diabetes care and long-term improvements in healthcare systems in both countries.

The first intensive week of the DEqual project took place on 12–16 January at SEAMK, the project’s lead coordinator. The week was organised for project staff from the partner institutions: Nina Smolander and Tuula-Maria Rintala from TAMK, and Sirinapha Jittimanee and Faizul Hasan from Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand). From SEAMK, the participants were Project Manager Pauliina Oja-Lipasti and Marjut Asunmaa.

The programme consisted of inspiring lectures that provided a strong foundation for the project work ahead. Our guest speakers included:

• Mika Uitto, who gave an introduction to health literacy.
• Kirsi Kivistö-Rahnasto, who presented insights from her doctoral research on strengthening the quality of life of parents of children with type 1 diabetes through self‑care guidance.
• Helli Kitinoja, who introduced the HealthyKids of Seinäjoki project.
• As a finale, we joined an online guest lecture on the management of non-communicable diseases in Finnish prison healthcare, delivered by Hanna Hemminki-Salin, Chief Medical Officer of the Finnish Prison Hospital’s administrative unit, and Lauri Pesonen, Head Nurse of Outpatient Services in the Finnish Prison Health Care Unit.

In addition, representatives from the Finnish Diabetes Association — Juha Tall and Sari Koski — joined the programme, contributing valuable perspectives from the field of diabetes education and patient support. The group also visited Seinäjoki Central Hospital, where they were hosted by Petra Anttila, Director of Development at the South Ostrobothnia Wellbeing Services County, Reetta Syri, Clinical Specialist in Nursing Science, and Riitta Alanko, Head Nurse of the Intensive Care Unit.

The project aims to develop an online learning course focusing on diabetes care and health literacy in low‑resource environments. The course will be available in both countries at bachelor’s and master’s levels. The project also includes six Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing students from Finnish universities of applied sciences (three from SEAMK and three from TAMK) and seven master’s and PhD-level students from Chulalongkorn University. During the intensive week, SEAMK’s students had the opportunity to meet partners and deepen their understanding of health literacy.

The intensive week proved to be an excellent way to bring together all partner organisations and project staff. It provided valuable knowledge and strengthened collaboration across countries. The next intensive week will be held at Chulalongkorn University in late 2026.