Diabetes patients' psychological needs not being addressed.WASHINGTON -- A significant number of patients with diabetes say they need help coping with the disease, but too few have such psychological needs addressed during initial diabetes education sessions, Mark Peyrot, Ph.D., reported at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association. "Most of patients' basic care needs are addressed" in diabetes self-management training, said Dr. Peyrot of the department of medicine at Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University, mainly at Baltimore, Md. Johns Hopkins in 1867 had a group of his associates incorporated as the trustees of a university and a hospital, endowing each with $3.5 million. Daniel C. , Baltimore Baltimore, city (1990 pop. 736,014), N central Md., surrounded by but politically independent of Baltimore co., on the Patapsco River estuary, an arm of Chesapeake Bay; inc. 1745. . "But very little of their psychosocial psychosocial /psy·cho·so·cial/ (si?ko-so´shul) pertaining to or involving both psychic and social aspects. psy·cho·so·cial adj. Involving aspects of both social and psychological behavior. needs are being addressed." Dr. Peyrot reported that 44% of 178 patients in this study, which was based at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a leading American healthcare provider and institution for medical research. It consistently ranks in US News and World Report's "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 best hospitals in America. , chose "healthy coping" as one of the areas in which they wanted help. Patients were asked to review the American Association of Diabetes Educators' seven "self-care behaviors"--which it uses in its patient assessment instrument and in its system for evaluating outcomes in diabetes education--and choose areas in which they wanted to set goals and learn skills. Patients could choose as many behaviors as they wished. The interest in "healthy coping" was unexpectedly similar to the interest in "reducing risks" (49%), "being active" (46%), and "problem-solving" (41%). Dr. Peyrot said that he expected interest in coping would be more modest. On the other hand, some areas--such as "monitoring" (chosen by 39%) and "taking medications" (chosen by 34%)--were rated "lower than what we'd expect," he said. Diabetes educators' responses to patients' needs varied widely. In 94% of initial visits, educators addressed monitoring issues, for instance, and in 88% and 87% of initial visits they addressed exercise and eating, respectively. Medications were addressed in 75% of visits, problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. in 44%, and risk reduction in 56%, said Dr. Peyrot, who is also director of the center for social and community research at Loyola College, Baltimore. Although almost half of patients expressed psychological needs, coping was addressed in only 18% of patients' initial visits, he said. "To a large extent, there was a standardized package being delivered to patients," he noted. They were seen at four of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's diabetes self-management training programs, each of which uses the AADE's National Diabetes Education Outcomes System to track and assess diabetes education. BY CHRISTINE KILGORE Contributing Writer Self-Care Behaviors Diabetes Patients Want to Learn Reducing risks 49% Being active 46% Healthy coping skills 44% Monitoring 39% Taking medications 34% Note: Based on a 178-patient review of AADE assessment measures. Source: Dr. Peyrot ELSEVIER GLOBAL MEDICAL NEWS Note: Table made from bar graph. |
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