From inspiration to action: how IDF-WPR and ADC 2026 aim to lift the quality of diabetes care
- ADEA
- 10 hours ago
- 4 min read
For Allira Panebianco, serving as a Program Organising Committee member at the International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region (IDF-WPR) Congress, Australasian Diabetes Congress (ADC) and Metabolic Diseases 2026 is a chance to showcase the ideas, innovations and practical approaches that can help lift the quality of diabetes care.
A Senior Clinical Nurse Advisor at Bolton Clarke, Australia's largest independent not-for-profit aged care provider, Ms Panebianco says becoming involved in shaping the program, specifically Stream 2: Diabetes Education and Quality Improvement, felt like a natural next step after years of working across different areas of diabetes care.
"As a long-time attendee of the ADC (I first started attending as a student diabetes educator), I always felt passionate about contributing ‘one day’, but after working in the specialty for more than eight years across primary care, community, and hospital settings, I felt that time had come and that I now had the insight to meaningfully contribute," she says.
Her contributions to stream 2 reflect the areas of diabetes education she is most passionate about.
"These are mental health, as that tends to drive how engaged a person will be with their diabetes self-management, and optimising the use of diabetes technology," she says.
Driving quality improvement
Across the congress, speakers will explore ways to improve diabetes care, from policy and lived experience through to education, quality improvement and clinical practice.
"There is a strong focus on what quality care looks like in various settings, for various patient cohorts, from systems to face-to-face consultations," Ms Panebianco says.
"The variety of examples of quality care will encourage healthcare professionals to learn from one another and apply new ideas in their own settings, helping to lift the quality of diabetes care across the board."
A strong emphasis has also been placed on ensuring that attendees walk away with practical insights they can apply in their own work.
"After attending the stream 2 sessions, I hope that attendees will feel inspired to continually improve the systems of care and care provided and take the opportunity to discuss with those in the room how ideas for improvements can be applied in day-to-day practice."
Exploring emerging trends in diabetes care
Stream 2 also reflects emerging priorities in diabetes care, including equity for populations disproportionately affected by diabetes and the growing integration of obesity care.
Among the topics being explored across the program is the growing role of technology in diabetes care, including how emerging tools may shape education, service delivery and quality improvement.
"Leveraging technology in diabetes care as both a challenge and an opportunity will be discussed, particularly with relevance to the use of AI in diabetes education consultations, and the development of new services," Ms Panebianco says.
For Ms Panebianco, these discussions are among the topics she is most looking forward to exploring herself.
"Personally, the topics or themes I have chosen to engage with over the years have evolved as I have moved through my career," she says.
"This year I look forward to attending topics that cover the use of AI and diabetes care system improvements."
Shaping care through consumer voices
Keeping people living with diabetes at the centre of care was another important consideration when developing the program.
"The session topics chosen strongly reflect co-design principles where the consumer, the person living with diabetes, is front and centre and their voice is heard, considered and integrated into the development in the systems and care delivery strategies that will have the greatest positive outcomes for them," Ms Panebianco says.
Learning at every career stage
Ms Panebianco says the event has something to offer diabetes healthcare professionals at every stage of their careers.
"Stream 2 sessions cover topics that hold relevance to the full spectrum of diabetes healthcare professionals no matter where they are in their careers," she says.
"It’s important to look for topics that not only hold relevance to where you are in your career, but also where you would like to be."
Beyond the educational content, Ms Panebianco says one of the lasting benefits of attending the congress is the opportunity to build professional connections and find collaborators with shared interests.
"One thing I can always count on with attending the ADC is that I always come away with more inspiration, passion, and gratitude for my work in diabetes education," she says.
"The event is not only a great place to be inspired but also to network and find the like-minded professionals to help progress and implement ideas in their specific diabetes care setting."
To learn more and register, please visit the event's website.
The Congress is being delivered in collaboration with the Melbourne Convention Bureau and with support from the Victorian Government's Business Events Fund and Tourism Australia's Business Events Bid Fund Program.
