Learn about what really matters to people living with diabetes around the world.
Insights, Stories & Perspectives
The #dedoc° blog features articles and opinion pieces written by our international network of diabetes advocates: the #dedoc° voices. From scientific conferences to the latest diabetes research and technology, from challenges faced by those living with diabetes to global disparities in healthcare, our #dedoc° voices cover it all.
Diabetes advocates wishing to contribute to the #dedoc° blog are welcome to submit a guest post using the link below.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch — we love to hear from you, and so do thousands of others!
All opinions are those of the authors.
Contact: blog@dedoc.org
A #dedocº voice reflection: From Mauritius to Montréal - When Compassion Becomes Influence
From Mauritius to Montréal, this deeply personal reflection explores the intersection of lived experience, advocacy, and global community. Writing as both a father of a young adult living with type 1 diabetes and a person living with type 2 diabetes himself, Didier reflects on his experience at ISPAD 2025 as both speaker and #dedoc° Voice. Through moments of connection, quiet emotion, and shared humanity, this article highlights how compassion, when paired with structure and credibility, can evolve into meaningful influence and lasting change, even from the smallest of islands.
Towards Better: Reflections from an International Diabetes Conference
Reflecting on ISPAD’s 51st Annual Meeting through the lens of lived experience, this piece explores the growing role of advocacy, collaboration, and technology in shaping the future of diabetes care. Writing from Aotearoa, New Zealand, Sandra Braithwaite shares her journey from parent to advocate following her son’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis, and reflects on the importance of building bridges between communities, clinicians, researchers, and people living with diabetes. Through themes of connection, AI, and collective responsibility, the article is a thoughtful reminder that meaningful progress happens when lived experience is not added later, but included from the very beginning.
A new #dedocº voice through the ‘Loved Experience’
Sheila reflects on attending the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2025 not as a person living with diabetes, but as someone who loves and supports someone who does. Arriving as a carer and leaving as part of the #dedocº Voices community, this piece explores how diabetes shapes entire families. It highlights the value of the loved experience alongside lived experience, and why caregivers’ perspectives deserve recognition in research, policy, and professional spaces.