[Management of type 2 diabetes: patient education]

Abstract

Patient education emerged initially as an essential component of the management of type 1 diabetes. Patient education has also been for long an integral part of the recommendations for managing type 2 diabetes. Studies about patient education and type 2 diabetes have demonstrated the effectiveness of patient education by studying the evolution of bioclinic markers including HbA1c. However, if we return to the foundations of patient education definition, we cannot summarize the effectiveness of patient education on the only decrease of HbA1c. So, if the aim of patient education is to support patients to take better care of themselves, it might be interesting to use other types of evaluation methodology, including qualitative studies, to reflect the different dimensions of patient education, especially psychosocial.