Diabetes Prevention and Management: The Thrill Is Not Gone
2014; American Diabetes Association; Volume: 27; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2337/diaspect.27.1.63
ISSN1944-7353
Autores Tópico(s)Diabetes Management and Research
ResumoIt is a thrilling time to be working in diabetes. That is not to say that everything is wonderful, and some of it makes you pretty anxious. But it is a time when the need has never been greater, and there is so much on the line. Are we going to prevent enough new cases of diabetes before we reach a threshold at which one out of three people has it? Are we going to improve diabetes care in ways that will allow all of those affected to be healthy and productive and not leave far too many people experiencing the ravages of this disease? Will we find cures so that, in the future, no one ever has to face this disease in any of its forms? I would like to address some of these questions, and in so doing, I hope to demonstrate that, in the field of diabetes prevention and management, the thrill is not gone. When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 45 years ago, there was really nothing resembling diabetes self-management education (DSME). I am thrilled that today not only is DSME recognized as integral to successfully living with diabetes, but so is ongoing support. That support can take many forms. It may be access to community health workers or peer educators; tools and materials like those from the National Diabetes Education Program or the American Diabetes Association; social networking and other virtual supports; or changes to the built environment in communities that make healthy choices easier to adopt. The acknowledgment that ongoing support is crucial for making behavior changes, maintaining healthy diabetes behaviors, and addressing psychosocial concerns is a huge step forward and long overdue. The challenge before us is not only to acknowledge that self-management is an ongoing process and must occur both …
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