An estimated 54.9 million people in the United States will have diabetes by the year 2030 according to some research, highlighting the critical role of prevention and management efforts in public health.1 Lifestyle modifications, like eating a healthy diet and exercising, are known to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and are key factors in managing type 1 and 2 diabetes.2
Community pharmacists, who are the most accessible members of health care teams, are in a prime position to help educate patients about lifestyle modifications to manage their diabetes. Jennifer Goldman, PharmD, CDCES, BC-ADM, FCCP, said that the first and most important thing pharmacists need to do is assess a patients current knowledge level and understand any individual barriers they have.
Goldman, who is a professor of pharmacy practice at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, recently sat down with Drug Topics to discuss how pharmacists can best approach educating patients about lifestyle modifications in managing diabetes, and ways community pharmacists can collaborate with other healthcare professionals to enhance diabetes management.
“We have to think about how this particular patient—everyone is different—looks at their diabetes,” Goldman said. “How do they look at their lifestyle? For example, if somebody has certain ethnic foods that they eat all the time, you can’t just say don’t ever eat that again. We have to make manageable, small goals…Putting it back on the patient and [asking] what [they] can do…If people come up with their own answers, they often follow that a bit better.”
READ MORE: Diabetes Resource Center
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