Preferences of Persons with Type 2 Diabetes for Diabetes Self-Management Education Interventions: An Exploration

Objectives: Treatment preferences affect treatment engagement, adherence and outcomes. There is limited knowledge of patients’ preferences for Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME). This study explored the preferences of Canadians with diabetes for components, mode and dose for implementing DSME interventions. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Adults with diabetes completed a questionnaire to assess participants’ preferences for components (i.e. content), mode (i.e. teaching strategies, delivering formats) and dose (i.e. number and length of sessions) of DSME. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: Participants (n = 100) were middle-aged men and women, who had diabetes for 6.1 years and previously received (95.0%) DSME. They indicated preference for DSME to include a combination of educational, behavioral and psychological components;to be delivered in individual, face-to-face sessions (4 sessions, 60 minutes each, given monthly) that allowed discussion with one diabetes educator to develop and carry out a care plan. Conclusions: Diabetes educators may consider eliciting patient’s preferences and tailoring DSME to fit patients’ preferences. Delivering interventions that are consistent with patients’ preferences increases their motivation to engage in intervention, satisfaction and adherence to treatment and achievement of desired outcomes.