Feasibility of a pilot intervention targeting self-care behaviors in adults with diabetes mellitus

Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions and is widely encountered by clinicians in medical settings. National Standards for diabetes education recommend utilization of an interdisciplinary team, setting individual lifestyle goals and managing barriers. However, typical diabetes education programs lack integration of strategies for translating recommendations into behavioral actions. The present intervention was developed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of a short-term cognitive-behavioral intervention aimed at optimizing self-care behaviors in adults with diabetes in a “real world” medical setting. Participants were 20 adults who had completed medical model outpatient diabetes education. The intervention consisted of 6 weekly sessions that addressed the role of behavior in diabetes including self-care barriers, cognitions and self-regulation. Pre-post intervention data indicated greater specificity in goal-setting. Participants who kept activity records had the greatest lifestyle activity behavior change. Findings suggest that a brief intervention addressing realistic goal-setting is feasible and can promote meaningful health behavior changes. Clinical psychology can provide a bridge between current diabetes care recommendations and available medical resources by providing training in and delivery of empirically supported behavior change strategies and evaluation of diabetes care treatment approaches.