Understanding patient experiences with goal setting for diabetes self-management after diabetes education.

Diabetes educators need to understand self-care experiences of patients with diabetes in the early stage after diagnosis and education. A survey assessed patient-generated measures of experiences with goals (self-care behaviors) after diabetes education among patients with type 2 diabetes (N = 97) between 6 months and 1.5 years since diagnosis. Most patients set goals during diabetes education and thought that the goals were useful. There is evidence suggesting that patients experiencing difficulty with traditional self-care behaviors may use approaches to evaluate their diabetes control that are not encouraged in diabetes education, such as monitoring their physical and emotional feelings. Implications for diabetes education and counseling practices are suggested.