Barriers to Effective Diabetes Self-Management Education

Self-management education is the key component of diabetes care. Furthermore، high levels of patient non-compliance or non-adherence to the treatment regimen suggest that patient education for self-management is faced with some shortcomings. This study aimed to identify barriers to effective diabetes self-management education. This is a traditional review of published studies during 1990-2010 on barriers to diabetes self-management and control. Electronic search through Iranian and international databases was done. Barriers to effective diabetes self-management education were put in two main categories including patient-related barriers and caregiver-related barriers. The most common patient-related barriers are demographic barriers (such as age، sex، education، and health literacy)، financial problems، lack of attention to the disease، psychological problems، and insufficient knowledge. Patient-caregiver relationship، inadequate knowledge، and high workload were caregiver-related barriers. The results of this review introduced a variety of factors that can affect the effectiveness of diabetes self-management education. Patients and caregivers are facing serious challenges due to these barriers. Understanding and attemping to overcome these barriers may help us to empower patients to achieve self-management.