Diabetes Educators
The findings of the DAWN™ study confirm on a global basis what every diabetes educator experiences in daily practice – people with diabetes struggle with the realities of living with and caring for diabetes. Educators have a critical role to play in working with individual patients and in working to make our healthcare systems more responsive to patient needs. The findings of the DAWN™ study highlight opportunities for educators to expand their roles in diabetes care.
Opportunities for Diabetes Educators to Improve Diabetes Outcomes
The message from the DAWN™ study for diabetes educators is clear. You have a crucial role to play – not only to educate the people with diabetes, but also to provide psychosocial support and assistance. Both nurses and physicians participating in the DAWN™ study overwhelmingly supported the statement that more qualified nurse educators or diabetes nurse specialists are needed (nurses 91%, physicians 83%).
Integrating Psychosocial Aspects Into All Educational/Care Efforts
Most diabetes education programs include information about stress and the psychosocial aspects of diabetes. However, this is usually provided at the end of the session or as a separate content area. A more useful approach is to address psychosocial concerns as they relate to each of the other aspects. For example, when discussing insulin, you can ask patients about their fears and concerns before they began on insulin, what their experiences have been, and the issues that are of concern now. This discussion can also be helpful for those patients with type 2 diabetes who are considering a move to insulin.
Providing Ongoing Self-management Support
The DAWN™ data may remind you that people with diabetes need more than a one-time education program. They need ongoing contact with diabetes educators or other healthcare professionals who can provide continuing collaboration and psychological and self-management support. One of the challenges that DAWN™ provides for diabetes educators is the need to create programs and advocate within the healthcare settings for systematic methods for providing ongoing support as a routine part of diabetes self-management education.
The DAWN™ experiment
Diabetes Educators receive a great deal of training and practice in presenting information effectively. However, most have less training and practice in the skill of active listening. Click here to go to Diabetes Dialogue Tools.
More information?
Many proven tools and educational programmes have been identified through the DAWN™ conferences and are being used in various DAWN™ initiatives around the world. Please contact your local Novo Nordisk affiliate for further information about initiatives in your area.
