‘From the first consultation, I remember the terror’: Diabetes requires health education – 11/28/2022

Without having heard of type 1 diabetes, which can appear from childhood and is autoimmune, baker Barbara Rufino Xavier, from Guarulhos, only discovered its existence when her son Rafael, 6 years old, received the diagnosis in hospital after making up for it.

In this case, access to information was immediate: the parents were greeted and directed by the endocrinologist on duty.

On their first subsequent medical visit, the family left the office with their hands full of papers. It was the content that helped and continues to help in understanding diabetes in all its aspects and stages, directing access to medicines through the SUS and also enabling a shared journey with other people in the same situation, by knowing ADJ – Juvenile Diabetes Association – and its various educational programmes.

The only thing missing is kindness and support at school,” says Barbara.

to Marco AckermannProfessor at the School of Public Health of the University of São Paulo (University of São Paulo), in such cases, parents should encourage health promotion actions in schools to improve collective awareness and health education for teachers, children and parents.

“It is possible that the initiative came to nothing. But this could have been a meeting where the group could exchange recipes for the desserts that Raphael eats at his colleagues’ parties. This action would involve the whole group in a process of learning and inclusion.”

Positive communication

Knowing how a patient is feeling in these times and establishing positive communication with them makes a huge difference, says Marcio Krakauer, Director of SBEM-SP (Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism) and the Brazilian Society of Diabetes SBD.

The presence of this sensitivity can determine how treatment will be delivered, even among individuals who are, at first, suspicious, such as one of his patients who once stated: “In the beginning, diabetes was a bogeyman; now, it’s a pet.”

Although the disease affects, in Brazil, the equivalent of just over the entire population of the municipality of São Paulo (16 million people), “there was not – and has not been – a death certificate, nothing to lose,” says Krakauer.

“On the contrary, what the patient needs to know is that diabetes is the beginning of a new, healthier life. Well knowing, it can’t get worse, it can only get better,” the doctor continues.

More knowledge, more benefits

Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases (such as type 1 or 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes) associated with glucose metabolism that leads to a buildup of sugar in the blood.

Treatment is based on four pillars: the use of medications, changes in diet, and physical activity, as well as self-care education. Explanations from Levimar Rocha Araújo, patient with type 1 diabetes and national chair of SBD.

“To control the disease, we make full use of the most powerful interventions: access to information and understanding the importance of lifestyle changes, which we do by building knowledge about what the disease is and how it behaves,” Araujo says.

This focus on education is justified by the fact that scientific evidence indicates that self-management of the disease reduces blood glucose levels – and thus prevents complications – as well as the risk of death from all causes. The data has been published in the journal Endocrine. The more knowledgeable the patient is, the better the clinical and psychosocial responses, as well as the quality of life.

The value of health literacy