Diabetes: What Role for Occupational Therapy?

Two Exercise Programs for People with Diabetes and Visual Impairment

This article describes two programs—one in Australia and one in the United States—that teach people with diabetes and visual impairment to incorporate proper diets and exercise into their daily lives and hence to gain better control of their blood glucose levels. It also presents a basic model of an exercise regimen that clients can perform at home.

The Role of Occupational Therapy in Diabetes Self-Management Interventions

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®.