Addressing self-management for patients with diabetes is especially challenging when you consider all of the behaviors that are integral to diabetes management and self-care.

These are the 7 behavioral targets of self-management that have been identified by the AADE. These are not only behaviors to assess and address. They are also the desired outcomes of diabetes self-management education.

When you look at this list, you realize how complex and challenging it is for a patient with diabetes to manage their illness!! And a challenge for us as well!!!!

We also know that following the recommendations for addressing one of these behaviors is not highly correlated with following or adopting the other behaviors. For example, we can’t assume that a patient who is taking their medication regularly is also doing the other things that are important to long-term management of their diabetes.

As you will see later, assessment of patient understanding, beliefs and readiness is an important first step toward providing efficient and effective self-management support.