In recent years, the number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus has increased. In 2021, it was estimated that 537 million adults worldwide were living with diabetes with the total number projected to rise to 643 million by 2030. Diabetes causes many complications, which increases the risk of both microvascular and cardiovascular disorders. Despite the promising therapeutic effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists and sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, fears of side effects including gastrointestinal adverse reactions, dehydration, diabetic ketosis, urinary tract infection and sarcopenia have not enabled their extensive use in patients with diabetes, especially the elderly. Moreover, the decrease in hospital visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic has also been a serious problem for patients with diabetes. For instance, a significant number of patients with diabetes would have missed out on diabetes self-management education which is traditionally delivered in face-to-face settings.
Therefore, new innovation including self-care interventions is needed to prevent new onset of diabetes and the development of complications associated with diabetes. Over the past two decades, a significant number of diabetes self-management education programmes have been developed and translated into practice. Several studies have shown that these programmes are efficacious and cost-effective in promoting and facilitating self-management and improvements in patients' knowledge, biomedical, behavioural, and psychosocial outcomes have been reported. Among this array of diabetes self-management education programmes, variations in method of delivery, content, duration, setting, and use of technology and person-centred philosophy need to be acknowledged.
Important questions need to be asked regarding the usefulness of some programmes which are anchored on the traditional provider–patient relationship due to a huge shift towards a paradigm in which individuals with diabetes play a key role in guiding their care, in partnership with health care providers. The primary focus of this research topic is to evaluate evidence regarding innovative solutions, which enable healthcare providers to pivot to self-management education programmes that can be delivered safely and efficiently taking into consideration the needs for specific populations, the type of diabetes, and ethnic, social, cognitive, literacy, and cultural factors. In coming up with these solutions, researchers need to actively engage people with diabetes so that their perspectives are reflected in new innovative programmes which could use readily available and cost effective digital platforms such as mobile phones.
This Research Topic welcomes all article types highlighting innovations in self-management for diabetes. Subjects to focus on are:
• Interventions for diabetes and diabetic complications including devices, diagnostics and digital products in daily life
• Innovation in nutrition and exercising education and management
• Co-designed diabetes self-management programmes
• Diabetes self-management approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic
In recent years, the number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus has increased. In 2021, it was estimated that 537 million adults worldwide were living with diabetes with the total number projected to rise to 643 million by 2030. Diabetes causes many complications, which increases the risk of both microvascular and cardiovascular disorders. Despite the promising therapeutic effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists and sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, fears of side effects including gastrointestinal adverse reactions, dehydration, diabetic ketosis, urinary tract infection and sarcopenia have not enabled their extensive use in patients with diabetes, especially the elderly. Moreover, the decrease in hospital visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic has also been a serious problem for patients with diabetes. For instance, a significant number of patients with diabetes would have missed out on diabetes self-management education which is traditionally delivered in face-to-face settings.
Therefore, new innovation including self-care interventions is needed to prevent new onset of diabetes and the development of complications associated with diabetes. Over the past two decades, a significant number of diabetes self-management education programmes have been developed and translated into practice. Several studies have shown that these programmes are efficacious and cost-effective in promoting and facilitating self-management and improvements in patients' knowledge, biomedical, behavioural, and psychosocial outcomes have been reported. Among this array of diabetes self-management education programmes, variations in method of delivery, content, duration, setting, and use of technology and person-centred philosophy need to be acknowledged.
Important questions need to be asked regarding the usefulness of some programmes which are anchored on the traditional provider–patient relationship due to a huge shift towards a paradigm in which individuals with diabetes play a key role in guiding their care, in partnership with health care providers. The primary focus of this research topic is to evaluate evidence regarding innovative solutions, which enable healthcare providers to pivot to self-management education programmes that can be delivered safely and efficiently taking into consideration the needs for specific populations, the type of diabetes, and ethnic, social, cognitive, literacy, and cultural factors. In coming up with these solutions, researchers need to actively engage people with diabetes so that their perspectives are reflected in new innovative programmes which could use readily available and cost effective digital platforms such as mobile phones.
This Research Topic welcomes all article types highlighting innovations in self-management for diabetes. Subjects to focus on are:
• Interventions for diabetes and diabetic complications including devices, diagnostics and digital products in daily life
• Innovation in nutrition and exercising education and management
• Co-designed diabetes self-management programmes
• Diabetes self-management approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic
