If you have been following the past editions of Creation Healthcare’s Healthcare Engagement Strategy Awards (#hesawards) you may be aware of the Big Blue Test, an initiative organized by the Diabetes Hands Foundation that encourages diabetics to become more physically active by comparing their blood glucose test results before and after 14-20 minutes of exercise and then sharing their experience online.
In fact, Roche Diagnostics was one of last year’s #hesawards winners together with Diabetes Care, the Big Blue Test, and the diabetes online community.
This year’s Big Blue Test is once again sponsored by Roche Diabetes Care, who manufacture Accu-Chek medical devices aimed at the diabetes market. In our coverage of the previous edition, we mentioned how remarkable it was that participation levels increase each year, which has a significant impact on the diabetes community from an educational perspective, demonstrating that just 15 to 20 minutes of exercise can decrease diabetics’ glucose level by an average of 20%.
So far, around 2700 tests have been taken this year and the Diabetes Hands Foundation’s goal is to reach 20 000 users by the 14th of November. If you are part of the online diabetes community, you can also include #bigbluetest as a Twitter hashtag or Instagram tag to join the online discussion and for a chance to see your photos on the bigbluetest.org website.
Once the 20,000 test goal is reached, sponsors will donate $100,000 to organizations that supply essential services and products to the diabetic community, including Auxanomen Health Clinic at Parker Lane United Methodist Church (Austin, Texas), Insulin for Life (Florida), Fundación Diabetes Juvenil Ecuador in Ecuador, and others. For more about how some of these were chosen, please see the Big Blue Test’s FAQ page.
Non-diabetics can also take the Big Blue Test and each entry will be counted towards the 20 000 test goal, but they will not be asked to test their blood sugar. You can also submit more than one entry as long as the entries relate to independent sessions of exercise!
Because diet and exercise are the foundation of diabetes management, Creation Healthcare believes this is an especially worthwhile initiative, as physical activity plays a key role in blood sugar control.
To join the ‘Big Blue Test’ movement and share your pre- and post-exercise results, visit the Big Blue Test website.
