Educational programme for patients with type 2 diabetes at community health centres : what is the evidence?

Abstract

With increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus type 2, more patients will require intensive management with diet, exercise, oral hypoglycaemic medication, and insulin replacement therapy in the primary care setting. The true challenge of diabetes care is to help patients balance short- and long-term quality of life against the burden of daily intensive self-management. Many guidelines refer to patient diabetes education (PDE) as the way people are enabled to maintain glycaemic control and experience the best possible quality of life. PDE programmes are often offered on an ad hoc basis and are not ongoing, nor are they based on any proven educational or behavioural principles which limit their effectiveness. PDE interventions are very complex and it is difficult to identify the active ingredients with any precision.