The Roquette Foundation supports the Prev’Santé MEL association which shares the same objectives of changing eating habits for people suffering from obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The Prev’Santé MEL association works for the prevention and overall management of patients suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity in the Lille metropolitan area. The association’s actions aim to improve the quality of life of patients by offering programs focused on prevention, training and project engineering.
The risk of obesity for people with intellectual disabilities is higher than that of the general population. This is why the association Prev’Santé MEL has adapted and made its therapeutic education programs accessible to people with intellectual disabilities and obesity. The focus is on nutrition through the implementation of educational workshops on balanced nutrition, food pleasure, food choice and recipe preparation.
In order to facilitate access to its programs, the association trains health professionals in the specificities of intellectual disabilities, notably through the FALC method (Facile A Lire et à Comprendre). It is also by creating a multidisciplinary work group, including people with intellectual disabilities, liberal health professionals, workers in the medico-social field and caregivers, that the educational workshops are co-constructed in an approach of sharing knowledge and experiences.
The educational workshops of the I take care of my health through my diet program will first be tested with a group of 30 patients and then given to more than 250 people in specialized establishments or on the association’s sites.
This program will be evaluated based on clinical and biological criteria. It will allow health professionals to adapt their management. Educational workshops focusing on nutrition will help patients change their behaviors and develop new skills.