IOSR Journal of Engineering (IOSRJEN) ISSN: 2250-3021 Volume 2, Issue 6 (June 2012), PP 1401-1408 www.iosrjen.org ISSN: 2250-3021 www.iosrjen.org 1401 | P a g e A Case Study: Risks & Challenges for Training Nurses in Diabetes Problems Jozef B. Lewoc 1, Slawomir Skowronski 2, Peter Kopacek 3, Antoni Izworski 4, Antonina Kieleczawa 5, Nicolae Bulz 6 1 Design, Research and Translation Agency Leader Wroclaw, Poland 2 Informatics and Management Faculty Wroclaw University of Technology Wroclaw, Poland 3 Institute for Handling Devices and Robotics Vienna University of Technology Vienna, Austria 4 Institute of Automation and Robotics Wroclaw University of Technology Wroclaw, Poland 5 Institute for Power System Automation (IASE) Wroclaw, Poland 6 Victoria University Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Melbourne, Victoria , Australia National Defence College Bucharest, Romania World Economy Institute/ (NERI)/ Romanian Academy Bucarest, Romania Interdisciplinary Research Group / Romanian Academy Bucharest Romania Abstract: - The primary health care nurses have a very important role to play in prophylaxis and treatment of diabetes. But this need rather fast training of ca. 20000 nurses in diabetes problems in Poland. This, in fact, implies application of the distant learning methods on the scale of the overall country. Prior initiating a project of a ubiquitous system of such a complexity, social importance and of a severely limited prior experience, its challenges and risks should be predicted and analysed. The paper presents shortly the proposed technical solution of the problem, specifies the challenges and the basic measures needed to meet them, enumerates the basic possible risks and specifies the counteractions planned to avoid the risks. The challenges and risks disclosed during the earlier history of the project are also discussed. Keywords: -system; ubiquittous; nurse; diabetes; e-training I. INTRODUCTION Diabetes is recognised as a major social problem of the XXI Century. Community, family and school hygienists/nurses (called, in general, the PHC (Primary Health Care) or community nurses) have a very important role to play in the diabetes prevention and treatment processes. But the knowledge of diabetes, especially in its epidemiological sense, is changing rather fast nowadays. Therefore, the PHC nurses need serious training in their new duties and they need it fast. Traditional classroom lessons can not be successful because the high amount of the eligible learners (e.g. ca. 20,000 community nurses in the case study country of Poland). A team of the designers/researchers (the Team) developed a technical proposal for solving this problem with use of a ubiquitous system employing the Distant Learning (DL) and e-training methods [1-3]. This solution including the ICT system and the infrastructure needed to train community nurses has been called e-Train-Diabetes . The e-Train-Diabetes is an example of an emerging ubiquitous system of a possibly high social significance. Therefore, the Team had to consider seriously not only the ICT but also medical and social aspects of this project. The present paper is devoted to these issues. Some examples of the basic challenges and risks that should be considered by the e-Train- Diabetes research and design Team are specified below. Ex definitione, for an emerging ubiquitous system of serious possible social impacts, enough earlier experience and know-how necessary for the decisive circles to undertake a well justified decision concerning possible establishing a design and development project are missing. Considering it, the Team decided to work out the concept of e-Train-Diabetes and to submit it for validation to specialists ranked on the very top of the world ICT technology and science, and nursing. The aim was to improve possibly the concept worked out and to acquire as much credible evidence, as possible, for the correctness and the quality of the solutions proposed, as possible to facilitate for the competent authorities of the case study country and/or other interested countries to undertake adequately justified administrative and financial decisions. This approach worked unexpectedly well: no individual person or organisation connected with science or technology, asked for help by the Team, refused it. An outstanding example may be the Second Summer School by IFIP [4]. They helped the Team even before the School (basing on extended abstracts, the Organizers