Implementation of diabetes education policy: Prospects and barriers

Long-term conditions such as diabetes appear to be the modern epidemic and empowerment through health education is a global initiative. Although a popular adage says ‘knowledge is power’, acquisition of knowledge requires individual engagement. Consequently, non-attendance in diabetes education centres is an issue that merits consideration of all healthcare students and practitioners worldwide. Although there is a reasonable degree of attention from healthcare professionals, policy-makers and the media, the challenges to motivate attendance raise interesting questions. Furthermore, with limited healthcare resources and lack of appetite for people to pay more taxes, a greater patient outcome is expected in return for every pound or euro spent on structured patient education. Whilst it is reasonable to assume that patients are of diverse groups and are also different type of learners in comparison to conventional students who are assessed by examinations, a lot can still be done to enhance active patient engagement. This book explores an old problem from new perspectives, with an intention to offer some solutions and advance the discussion in the area of enquiry.