Rethinking diabetes education

Abstract

One of the core components of diabetes care is the promotion of diabetes education to improve self-management, which would reduce the financial and personal burden that diabetes imposes. However, as education and knowledge alone do not always translate into improved metabolic outcomes, a fuller understanding of the factors that contribute to suboptimal self-management is important if improved diabetes outcomes are to be achieved. In this article the authors question the current approaches to diabetes education, and highlight how education might be broadened to produce more effective outcomes. The authors suggest a move away from traditional, didactic, diabetes-related education, which has failed in a number of settings, towards innovative approaches that are person-centred to improve metabolic outcomes and quality of life for individuals with diabetes.