Diabetes Self-Care Can Be Frustrating

U.S. researchers acknowledge that much is expected of diabetics to follow a structured meal, exercise and medication regime, and it can cause frustration.

We as healthcare professionals expect a lot from people with diabetes, report co-author Katie Weinger, of Joslin Diabetes Center and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, says in a statement.

Newer treatments to prevent complications can make self-care even more complex, causing even the most conscientious patients frustration and leading clinicians to think that they are not properly managing their care.

Other barriers to diabetes self-care are: depression, vision problems, heart disease, poverty, literacy and health insurance, according to the report published in a special supplement of the American Journal of Nursing.