In 2016, AADE recognized the impact of serious hypoglycemic events as an important public health issue, joining other diabetes stakeholders in their support of the Endocrine Society’s “Hypoglycemia Quality Collaborative Strategic Blueprint,” an actionable document to help prevent hypoglycemia.

Using the published blueprint as a springboard, the Endocrine Society embarked on a multi-year Hypoglycemia Prevention Initiative to design and test interventions in the primary care settings aimed at improving the prevention and management of hypoglycemia in high-risk adults with type 2 diabetes. The first step was an environmental scan, recapped in the April 2018 issue of the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. AADE is on the Steering Committee for this multi-year research project, an acknowledgement of the important role of diabetes educators and DSMES.

In 2017, AADE contributed to a consensus report on standardized diabetes outcomes beyond HbA1C. The publication includes recommended standard definitions for hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, time-in-range when using continuous glucose monitoring, diabetic ketoacidosis, and patient-reported outcomes. Specific to this topic, three levels of hypoglycemia are defined. Click here to access the full report.

Currently, the AADE Research Committee is conducting an integrative review to identify the impact of diabetes educator interventions in preventing hypoglycemic events across the age spectrum and in all types of diabetes. The review will look at experimental design, interventions, and outcomes, with the influence of the educator; results will be shared at the AADE18 Annual Conference in August (and published soon thereafter).

For these and many more resources specific to hypoglycemia, visit our comprehensive hypoglycemia tools page for diabetes educators.