The American Association of Diabetes Educators released a video today to mark the start of National Diabetes Education Week that illustrates the need for people with the disease to learn how to manage their condition.
The video can be seen here.
While it is often a covered benefit through Medicare and private insurance, diabetes education is significantly under-utilized. Diabetes educators help people with diabetes manage their condition through self-management and training. The curriculum is largely based on the AADE7 Self-Care Behaviors™ --
- Healthy eating
- Being active
- Monitoring
- Taking medication
- Problem solving
- Healthy coping
- Reducing Risks
Diabetes is one of the top public health threats in the U.S. today, impacting more than 29 million individuals with the disease and 86 million who have pre-diabetes. A diagnosis can be challenging, often requiring a lifestyle change that includes blood glucose monitoring and diet management.
Diabetes education teaches people how to self-manage their condition and is a proven way to lessen the complications that are often associated with diabetes, including circulation and vision problems, kidney failure, even heart disease and stroke. People with diabetes and their physicians need to be aware of the multiple benefits that diabetes education provides.
About the AADE:
AADE is a multi-disciplinary professional membership organization dedicated to improving diabetes care through education. With more than 14,000 professional members including nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and others, AADE has a vast network of practitioners involved in the daily treatment of diabetes patients. Learn more: www.diabeteseducator.org.
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