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Safe and Effective Diabetes Self Care Plan #1

Living each day with diabetes one makes decisions and problem solves based on knowledge and skills.

Just recently I saw a post on Facebook that read:

PL “I went 24 years not knowing. And only learnt last year doing the dafne program with diabetes Australia.”

So, if the health systems around our world were to provide effective diabetes self management education then people like PL would not have to wait 24 years to learn how to self manage / problem solve.

“The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) believes diabetes self-management education is a critically important, fundamental and integral component of diabetes prevention and care and should be available and accessible to everyone.

The purpose of diabetes self-management education (DSME) and diabetes self-management support (DSMS) is to prepare those affected by diabetes to:

• Make informed decisions
• Cope with the demands of living daily with a complex chronic disease
• Make changes in their behaviour that support their self-management efforts and improve outcomes.

The ultimate goal is to reduce the burden of diabetes on individuals, families, communities and healthcare systems, and, by supporting good health, prevent or delay the onset of diabetes related long-term complications. (IDF Standards 2009).

Although awareness of the value of education has improved, similar barriers to access to DSME exist in both developed and developing countries. The primary barrier to access to education is shortage of qualified diabetes educators.(IDF Diabetes Atlas 4th ed.)

At the Individual Level

• All people with diabetes and those at risk of diabetes, no matter where they live, have the right to learn about diabetes, how it can be prevented, how it can be managed effectively and how to access educational and clinical resources.
• High quality education includes assessing, planning, implementing, using behaviour change strategies and evaluating the outcomes of diabetes self-management education.
• Diabetes self-management education that integrates the clinical, behavioural and psychosocial aspects of diabetes self-management should be available and sustained.
• The public must be made aware of the need to recognise diabetes early and how to prevent diabetes and the serious health consequences of diabetes.

At Health Care Settings and Professional Levels

• All healthcare providers have an education role when caring for people with diabetes and should facilitate access to diabetes self-management education and on-going support.
• Diabetes education is best provided by an integrated interdisciplinary team including, at a minimum, the person with diabetes, a nurse, a dietitian and physician who are skilled in diabetes prevention and management as well as educational, behavioural and psychosocial strategies. Other team members (e.g., family members, pharmacists, behavioural scientists) can be included as needed.
• Effective educational, behavioural and psychosocial strategies should be included in health professional education programs and postgraduate curricula. It should also be included in continuing education programs about diabetes and implemented based on the IDF International Curriculum for Health Professional Education.” 

Your Self Care Plan

May look like something like this….

GP	Measure	Next Due	Result Last Visit	Plan
	Blood pressure	July	135/90	Review and start medication if above 130/80
	HbA1c	July
	Cholesterol: Total, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides	November
	Eye Check	Birthday	No problems detected	Check again in 1 year
	Kidney Check	Birthday	No problems detected	Check again in 1 year
	Medicare Plan Review	Birthday
	General Health Check	Birthday

 

Dietitian	Theme	Discussed Last Visit	Result Last Visit	Plan
	Weight management		97.6kg	Review in July. My target: 89kg by December
	Timing of meals	Yes. Going well.
	Carb counting	Yes, more information needed.
	Healthy drinks / alcohol	No time.		Discuss next visit
	Eating for sick day management	No time.		Discuss next visit

 

Diabetes Educator	Theme	Discussed Last Visit	Last Visit	Plan
	Hypo / Hyperglycemia	Yes, still need to discuss some of my high bgl’s and understand what might be causing them.	Good discussion, still a little unclear.	Take a weeks measured bgl’s to discuss the pattern and try and understand them more.
	Feet	No.		Need to develop a foot care plan / understand why I need to care for my feet.
	Sick Day Plan			Need to extend my knowledge about a sick day care plan to avoid hospital admission when possible.
	Medication	Need to learn some problem solving with my insulin doses.	I now understand my tablets now, how they work.	Discuss types of insulin that might fit my lifestyle better than this insulin I am using at present.Talk with GP about my medication next month: discuss options / updating to current available medications.
	Problem Solving			What to do when I go trek in Nepal next year.

 

Your self care plan may look very different, it’s your plan.

However, if you have a plan, a safe and effective plan, you are likely to reduce your physical health risks associated with diabetes. And if you use the support of your team, including your counsellor or psychologist, your mental health may also be in better shape.

The question to ask your self is…. ”is my diabetes self care plan helping me reach my health goals, or does my plan need some refinement?”

If you self care plan needs some refinement, then ask your team to support you in your decisions and goals.

Ask questions….. and ask for answers that you understand.

 

See more about self care plans HERE