Nurses' role in diabetes management and prevention in community care

Abstract

Diabetes care—particularly in a community setting as a form of prevention and management, is a growing requirement across England and Ireland. Self-management skills are an essential part of diabetes management and nurses in the community setting are one of the first points of care to ensure this. It is therefore imperative that nurses working within these primary and community care settings have the knowledge and skills necessary to support those in the community setting to effectively manage their condition, improve their health outcomes and their quality of life. Primary care has been tasked with providing both routine and more complex diabetes care and highlights a risk of adverse outcomes if people with diabetes are transferred to general practices without adequate support. Developing an approach for effective and efficient joint collaboration for primary care and specialists to manage the population of people with diabetes under their care is vital in its prevention and management. So how can this be achieved and what resources are required? This article will discuss current research into clinical practice and pilots which can contribute to supporting a more holistic multi-disciplinary approach to diabetes management and prevention, and hence, a provision of community based services aimed at health prevention.