Break the Cycle: How to Prioritize Diabetes Management
in Therapy (Recorded Webinar)
Presented by Meredith Emmons
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Nonfinancial: Meredith Emmons has no competing nonfinancial interests or relationships with regard to the content presented in this course.
This course is a recording of a previously hosted live webinar event. Polling and question submission features are not available for this recording. Format and structure may differ from those of standard MedBridge courses. The instructor initially presented a version of this course in January 2023 for a continuing education series for Pate Rehab.
Diabetes is a complex, chronic illness impacting tens of millions of Americans. Extensive cognitive and physical capabilities are necessary to manage diabetes effectively and minimize risk of complications, yet it is rarely a focus in therapy. Diabetes complications, including acquired brain injury such as stroke, are common, and too often patients find themselves stuck in a cycle of complications stemming from poor self-management skills. This course will guide therapists through some basic knowledge surrounding diabetes and its impact on cognitive function, and ways cognitive impairment can impact daily self-management skills for people with diabetes. The course will also educate clinicians about key questions to ask that will spark functional ideas for goals and therapy tasks. Focusing on diabetes self-management skills in therapy is a rich and meaningful way to provide person-centered care.
Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between types of diabetes and general treatment options to appropriately support patients with diabetes
- Integrate knowledge of blood glucose, A1c, and potential diabetes complications into functional treatment planning
- Analyze the connections between diabetes, acquired brain injury, and how cognitive impairments impact daily diabetes self-management
- Examine the impact of diabetes on mental health to provide supportive care to this population
- Examine diabetes and its complications as potentially cyclical and consider therapy’s role in helping break the cycle of complications through providing support with diabetes self-management skills
- Collaborate with patients with diabetes by asking key questions that can guide toward potential functional treatment planning
Meet your instructor
Meredith Emmons
Meredith works as a speech-language pathologist and clinical coordinator for Rehab Without Walls in Austin, Texas. She has worked across the continuum of adult healthcare since 2009. Her experience includes skilled nursing; hospital-based settings in large stroke and trauma centers, where she floated between ICU, acute care,…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Diabetes Overview
This chapter will provide a description of diabetes types, diabetes prevalence, a general overview of treatment of diabetes, and a brief explanation of A1c and blood glucose.
2. Medical Complications, Acquired Brain Injury, and Mental Health
This chapter will provide an overview of medical complications, acquired brain injury, and mental health complications associated with diabetes. The chapter will also introduce diabetes distress.
3. Daily Self-Management Tasks Affected by Cognitive Impairment: Healthcare Coordination
This chapter provides a list of key questions to guide treatment and goals, including discussion of diagnosis, specialists, vision, mental health, and resource support. The chapter will also provide functional goal examples and treatment options to support coordination of healthcare.
4. Daily Self-Management Tasks Affected by Cognitive Impairment: Medication Management
This chapter outlines key questions regarding medication management routines. It also provides functional goal examples and treatment options related to medication management.
5. Daily Self-Management Tasks Affected by Cognitive Impairment: Glycemic Monitoring
This chapter lists key questions regarding blood glucose monitoring and provides a brief overview of blood glucose monitoring options and ketone testing. It explains activities that cause blood glucose to rise and fall as well as symptoms of high and low blood glucose, and provides functional goal examples and treatment options related to glycemic monitoring, including glucose logs and app resources.
6. Daily Self-Management Tasks Affected by Cognitive Impairment: Nutrition
This chapter outlines key questions regarding nutrition support, including a general overview of balanced meals and factors influencing nutrition. It also discusses healthcare professional bias and weight stigma and their impact on patient success and provides lists of activities and goals to support improving nutritional management of diabetes.
7. Daily Self-Management Tasks Affected by Cognitive Impairment: Personal Hygiene
This chapter reviews key questions to ask related to personal hygiene. It discusses common skin issues related to diabetes and foot ulcer risk management, and reviews goal options and therapy suggestions to support hygiene goals.
8. Daily Self-Management Tasks Affected by Cognitive Impairment: Mobility and Physical Activity
This chapter reviews key questions to guide treatment related to mobility and physical activity, discusses neuropathy and its impact on activity, and reviews general goals related to mobility as well as more functional goals that incorporate diabetes management strategies for use with patients with cognitive impairment. It also provides information regarding emergency preparedness.
9. Case Examples
This chapter reviews two case examples of practical ways to incorporate diabetes management into therapy.
10. Summary: Dos and Don’ts
This chapter discusses providing person-centered care as best practice and how that applies to care for patients with diabetes. It also provides a brief list of diabetes dos and don’ts to wrap up the course.
11. Question and Answer Session
This chapter is a question and answer session facilitated by the instructor, Meredith Emmons.