Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

FOUNDATIONS OF DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION AND SUPPORT| 2-43

In a recent systematic review, Greenwood highlights the effective components that need to be present in order for technology to enhance current care (97). She describes the technology in terms of the technology enabled self-management (TES) feedback loop which consists of four elements, including the health-care professional loop-in which may be a differentiating feature from other systems. 1. Two-way communication between the patient and health-care provider 2. Patient-generated health-care data analysis

3. Education 4. Feedback

Technological interventions which facilitate the use of all four of these components have been found to be effective in lowering A1C, improving self-care behaviours and increasing self-efficacy (97). When reviewing new technology, it may be helpful to evaluate the tools in regard to these enablers.

Figure 6: Technology enabled self-management feedback loop

HCP

Person with diabetes

Feedback

PGHCD

Education

Adapted from Greenwood (97)

It is evident that technology will continue to have a great impact on our lives. As educators, we need to embrace the use of it, but be discretionary in the application to practice (145).