How effective is structured diabetes education in people with diabetes and CSII-treatment?

We analyzed the impact of structured diabetes education on clinical problems in people with diabetes and CSII-therapy. In this analysis, baseline data of 278 people with diabetes and CSII-therapy were included (age 43.7 ± 14.3 yrs., diabetes duration 23.0 ± 12.4 yrs., HbA1c 8.3 ± 0.9%; duration of CSII-therapy 9.6 yrs. ± 7.3 yrs.; 4.4 ± 3.3 structured diabetes education courses) who participated in the INPUT study. From these 278 participants, 90% had an A1c higher than 7.5%, 12.6% reported the occurrence of ketoacidosis in the last year, 9% reported severe hypoglycemia during the last year, 50.5% reported elevated diabetes-related distress (DDS score > 2.0) and 10% reported low well-being which could be indicative for likely depression (WHO score < 28). The following table shows the number of previous structured diabetes education courses in people with and without clinical problems. Elevated HbA1c Ketoacidosis Hypoglycemia Diabetes Distress Likely depression No 3.3 ±2.1 4.4 ±3.3 4.4 ±3.4 3.9 ±2.7 4.3 ±3.2 Yes 4.5 ±3.4 4.4 ±3.8 4.2 ±3.3 4.8 ±3.8 5.2 ±4.2 p 0.016 0.917 0.750 0.024 0.230 People with elevated HbA1c and elevated diabetes distress were previously more likely referred to structured diabetes education. Participation in structured diabetes education was not different in people with acute complications like hypoglycemia or ketoacidosis. Current structured diabetes education programs may not be optimally suited for ameliorating clinical or psychosocial problems in people with diabetes and CSII Treatment. There might be a need for more CSII specific diabetes education programs.