The Role of Occupational Therapy in Diabetes Self-Management Interventions

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health

AOTF: The American Occupational Therapy Foundation

Life Balance: Multidisciplinary Theories and Research

Online Advanced Release
The Role of Occupational Therapy in Diabetes Self-Management Interventions

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health

By Elizabeth A. Pyatak, MA, OTR/L

Submitted 11/19/09; Accepted 5/14/10; Posted 6/25/10

Approximately 23.6 million people in the United States are living with diabetes, a disease that is a leading cause of disabling conditions including blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart disease, and stroke. Although these complications of diabetes can be delayed or prevented through intensive diabetes self-management (DSM), maintaining control of the disease can be burdensome and negatively impact quality of life. Occupational therapy has a largely untapped potential to assist individuals who struggle with managing diabetes in the context of everyday life, yet there is little discussion of DSM in the occupational therapy literature. The author conducts a systematic review of the existing occupational therapy literature on diabetes, examines the current state of DSM interventions, and discusses a potential role for occupational therapy using programs such as Lifestyle Redesign®.

doi: 10.3928/15394492-20100622-01

OTJR Copyright and Fair Use Policy

To prevent copyright infringement, we request that authors, subscribers, and those who purchase PDFs through the full-text web site not share the PDFs with outside sources via e-mail. Content of the articles, whether in print or electronic format, remains the property of The American Occupational Therapy Foundation.