DOC News December 1, 2007
Volume 4 Number 12 p. 4
© 2007 American Diabetes Association
Surfing Destinations for Patients
Question: What are the best educational resources available
online for my patients with diabetes?
Answer: Finding solid resources can be challenging because of the
huge amount and varying quality of online information. But here are several
Web standouts health care providers can count on for quality:
- The American Diabetes Association provides a wide breadth of
information on type 1 and type 2 diabetes, along with common topics such as
preventing hypoglycemia and planning ahead for when other illnesses
strike—"sick-day management." Patients can find diabetes
news, practical information on reading food labels and exercising effectively,
and recipes for healthy eating. The site also features diabetes-related local
events/resources and a "kid zone" under the "parents and
kids" link.
www.diabetes.org
- Medline Plus,from the National Library of Medicine and National
Institutes of Health, offers a collection of Web site links or PDF documents
for any given topic, such as diabetes. A search renders well organized
offerings that patients can quickly scan, rather than the overwhelming deluge
produced by a general Web search.
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
- Mayo Clinic offers a wide range of concise, quality diabetes
information. Included are video and visual demonstrations on such topics as
how diabetes affects blood glucose and how patients can check their blood
glucose.
www.mayoclinic.com
- Healthy Roads Media offers multimedia health information in 18
different
languages.1 Patients
can download handouts, videos, audios, and podcasts on such topics as
hypertension, cholesterol, weight, exercise, heart health, immunizations,
depression, and nutrition. Diabetes-specific offerings include videos on foot
care, audios on diet and exercise, and multimedia demonstrations on medication
for glucose control.
www.healthyroadsmedia.org
- The American Academy of Family Physicians features practical, well
organized, patient-friendly diabetes information addressing such topics as,
"How do I pick a glucose meter?" and "What if I can't get a
drop of blood?" Its Web site also offers specific sections for kids and
teens.
www.familydoctor.org
- National Diabetes Education Project provides downloadable brochures,
such as "4 Steps to Control Diabetes for Life," for health care
professionals to distribute to patients. The brochures also can be bought in
tear-sheet form. The site's patient-education materials are available in
multiple languages and are geared for kids and adults.
www.ndep.nih.gov
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse offers a wide range of
diabetes information on, for example, treatments, complications, statistics,
research trials, and clinical practice guidelines. Also provided are a list of
A to Z topics, Spanish-language content, and "easy to read"
options. Patient-education and clinician publications can be downloaded in
printable PDF form or ordered in hard copy via the Web site.
www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
When choosing educational materials for patients, consider their
generational influences. Generation X and Y patients may be more comfortable
than baby boomers or older patients with Web sites and podcasts. Then again,
some older patients are Internet-savvy. The key is to establish your patient's
proficiency with information technology and his or her familiarity with the
Internet.
Assessing patients' learning styles is also helpful. A visual learner may
prefer video demonstrations to auditory explanations, for example. Tailoring
diabetes education to patients' preferences and needs increases the likelihood
they will follow the health care provider's advice. 
Footnotes
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Jennifer Beach, PharmD, CDE, is a clinical pharmacist at University of
Washington Medical Center's Diabetes Care Center in Seattle.
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References
1. Cassey MZ: Building a case for using technology: Health literacy
and patient education. Nurs Econ 25: 186–188, 2007.[Medline]
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