One of the core components of diabetes care is the promotion of
diabetes education to improve self-management, which would
reduce the financial and personal burden that diabetes imposes.
However, as education and knowledge alone do not always translate
into improved metabolic outcomes, a fuller understanding of the
factors that contribute to suboptimal self-management is important
if improved diabetes outcomes are to be achieved. In this article the
authors question the current approaches to diabetes education, and
highlight how education might be broadened to produce more effective
outcomes. The authors suggest a move away from traditional, didactic,
diabetes-related education, which has failed in a number of settings,
towards innovative approaches that are person-centred to improve
metabolic outcomes and quality of life for individuals with diabetes.peer-reviewe
