Diabetes education

What is diabetes education?

Diabetes education is a specialty field of practice and a specific intervention of diabetes management and care. Credentialled Diabetes Educators (CDEs) have been recognised by Medicare Australia, the Department of Veterans Affairs and private medical insurers as the appropriately qualified providers of diabetes education.

Diabetes education is about providing people with diabetes with the knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence to effectively manage their condition. 

Credentialled Diabetes Educators assist people with diabetes and their family or carers to gain an understanding of the risks and benefits of lifestyle choices and treatment options. They collaborate with the person with diabetes and other members of the diabetes team to achieve mutually agreed clinical targets, good health and well being.

Diabetes education aims to assist people with diabetes to make informed decisions about:

• Adapting lifestyle
• Treatment and management options
• Self monitoring of blood glucose and how to interpret and apply the results to improve diabetes management
• Preventing and managing acute diabetes complications
• Implementation of strategies to reducing risks and early detection of chronic diabetes complications
• Adapting to and reconciling the demands of diabetes with the demands of employment, family and social responsibilities and community involvement

When to refer to diabetes education?

People with diabetes should be referred to a CDE when requesting a referral or when seeking more information about diabetes and self management. Other referral prompts include:

• Initial diagnosis of diabetes
• Initiating or adjusting oral diabetes medicines or insulin therapy
• Suboptimal glycaemic control or failure to achieve other goals or desired clinical targets
• Changes in lifestyle or life stage changes e.g. travelling, commencing an exercise program, transition from paediatric care, experiencing menopause or ageing difficulties
• Recurrent episodes of acute complications of diabetes
• Post hospitalisation for diabetes related problems e.g. foot infection, severe hypoglycaemia, and diabetic ketoacidosis
• On diagnosis of chronic diabetes complications
• When planning pregnancy, during pregnancy and in the post natal period
• If experiencing diabetes related stress or feeling ‘burnt out’ by diabetes at its demands

To locate diabetes education services in your area, please click here to return to the ‘Find a CDE’ search function on this website.