Editor in Chief :

Mahmoud Ashraf Ibrahim ,MD

      Issues per Volume: Quarterly
Current Volume: 1
Current Issue : 1

Volume 1 number 1 Summer 2003
Special issue for the abstracts of the 7th Pan Arab Conference on Diabetes
PACD7 , 25 – 28 March 2003 Cairo

Abstract Number : 29
Diabetes Self-Management Education: Meeting the Challenge

Martha M. Funnell, MS, RN, CDE

Self-management education continues to be an integral component of care for the person with diabetes. Although the number of therapeutic options has increased and we have better technologies than ever before, there is a gap between the promise and reality of diabetes care. Diabetes self-management education is the key to closing that gap.
Reviews of the diabetes literature and intervention studies support the efficacy of self-management training for people with diabetes. In order to be effective, diabetes self-management education must be:

  • evidence-based
  • practical
  • pro-active
  • patient-centered
  • collaborative.

    There is evidence that intervention strategies are more effective when they:
  • incorporate both affective and cognitive aspects of diabetes
  • are tailored to patients' preferences
  • are tailored to patients' social/cultural environment
  • actively engage patients in goal-setting
  • incorporate coping skills
  • provide follow-up support
In order to meet the on-going challenge and close the gap between the promise and the reality of diabetes, we need to integrate diabetes self-management training into the care of all persons with diabetes. In addition, we need to expand international efforts to teach health professionals to be effective educators and promote quality diabetes self-management education. 

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