Trends in diabetes self‐management education: where are we coming from and where are we going? A narrative review
Abstract
Aims: To summarize the history, development and efficacy of diabetes self‐management education on glycaemic control and mental health in adults and children or adolescents with type 1 diabetes and people with type 2 diabetes. A further aim was to review the status of implementation of diabetes self‐management education into routine care and outline current gaps in implementation and research. Methods: We searched PubMed and Google scholar for German‐ and English‐language articles regarding diabetes self‐management education, glycaemic control and mental health, and restricted this search to meta‐analyses. Results: Diabetes education has evolved from a compliance‐ and knowledge‐oriented approach to an empowerment‐ and self‐management‐oriented approach. Diabetes self‐management education seems to have a greater impact on glycaemic outcomes than on mental health outcomes, but the latter are rarely assessed. Technological development and digitalization can provide chances and challenges for diabetes self‐management education. Digital solutions show promising results and great potential for improving the efficacy of diabetes self‐management education further and providing ongoing support. The implementation of diabetes self‐management education into routine clinical care frequently remains a challenge. Conclusion: Diabetes self‐management education has been acknowledged as an essential part of diabetes therapy; however, current gaps regarding the efficacy of diabetes self‐management education on mental health, and the need for education on the use of diabetes technology, are future avenues for research.
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Digital health apps can support patients' adherence to treatment, improve self-management, and contribute to better health outcomes.
“By providing personalized, real-time support and educational resources, along with tailored feedback and easily accessible reports on glycemic control, mobile health solutions can support patients’ adherence to treatment, improve their self-management, and as a consequence, contribute to better health outcomes [20,22].”
From Evaluation of the Impact of Mobile Health App Vitadio in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Randomized Controlled Trial (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
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“…real-time support and educational resources, along with tailored feedback and easily accessible reports on glycemic control, mobile health solutions can support patients’ adherence to treatment, improve their self-management, and as a consequence, contribute to better health outcomes [20,22].”
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- Authors
- Hermanns, N., Ehrmann, D., Finke‐Groene, K., & Kulzer, B.
- Affiliations
- German Diabetes Center Mergentheim (DE)
- Forschungsinstitut der Diabetes Akademie Mergentheim (DE)
- Research Institute Diabetes Academy Mergentheim (FIDAM) Bad Mergentheim Germany
- Corresponding author
- Hermanns, N.
- Venue
- Diabetic Medicine
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-02-14
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 436-447
- ISSN
- 0742-3071 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-5491
- OpenAlex
- W3004524822
- Cited by
- 117
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 5
- FWCI
- 2.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Diabetic Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Treatment and Management
- Keywords
- diabetes self-management education, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, glycemic control, mental health, diabetes technology, digital health interventions, implementation in routine care, patient empowerment, adolescents
- MeSH terms
- Self-Management, Diabetes Mellitus, Humans, Patient Education as Topic, Self Care, Health Behavior, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century
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