Diabetes education helps individuals with diabetes to learn how to manage their disease and be as healthy as possible.
It focuses on seven self-care behaviors which help diabetes sufferers remain healthy and enjoy life:
- Healthy eating
- Being active
- Monitoring
- Taking medication
- Problem solving
- Healthy coping
- Reducing risks
What is the objective of diabetes education?
The goal of diabetes education is to help people with diabetes practice these behaviors every day. This can be difficult but it is proven to be beneficial, by helping lower blood sugar (glucose), blood pressure and cholesterol. Most people with diabetes know self-management is important, but many find it overwhelming. Diabetes education helps by designing a specific plan for each person that includes the tools and support to help make the plan easy to follow.
What is the role of the diabetes educator?
Diabetes educators have the knowledge and skills to teach people with diabetes how to manage their diabetes to live their healthiest life. For example, diabetes educators explain how foods affect blood sugar and give specific directions for how to monitor blood sugar. They explain how to take medication correctly. A diabetes educator offers guidance on how to lower the risk of diabetes-related complications.
At Mediclinic City Hospital, your diabetes education appointment will include all of the above and more information specifically for you, including:
- Insulin injection practice
- Travelling advice
- Foot care
- Activity levels guidance
- Mental health awareness
Diabetes education is not a lecture on what not to do. It’s real-life guidance, coaching and support proven to help people understand exactly how to best manage their diabetes, and to feel less alone while doing it.