The city of Copenhagen’s Center for Diabetes has published a detailed guide to how they support citizens with diabetes - access here. The 100-page catalogue describes all its interventions to support citizens in Copenhagen with type 2 diabetes and/or heart disease. The catalogue serves as a reference document for all its staff but also reflects a wish to enable peers in Cities Changing Diabetes partner cities and elsewhere to learn from the centre’s approach and insights gained since it opened in 2016.

The Center for Diabetes in Copenhagen

The Center for Diabetes works from a set of principles including people-centred, evidence-based, data-driven, equity-seeking. With a team of nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians and close dialogue with primary and specialised care, the centre offers a positive health-oriented environment, daily activities, patient education, physical exercise and cooking classes. Also, a peer mentoring programme pairs up people with type 2 diabetes to support each other in adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Three-quarters of people newly diagnosed with diabetes in Copenhagen visit the centre, which has proved to be so successful that a new centre with double capacity will be built in another part of the city to open in 2023. In addition, the centre has begun to establish satellite offices in vulnerable areas of the city to engage citizens who could really benefit from the centre’s services.