Praphul Joshi and Nananda Col publish editorial in ‘International Journal of Diabetes Research’
Praphul Joshi, PhD, MPH, BDS, assistant professor in the School of Community and Population Health, and Nananda Col, MD, MPP, MPH, FACP, research professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine and faculty in the Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, published an editorial in the International Journal of Diabetes Research titled “Chronic Pain Self-Management: An Unmet Need among People with Diabetes.”
The editorial reviews the self-management behaviors of people with diabetes, such as maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, adhering to prescription medication schedules, and obtaining regular foot and eye exams, and the barriers that they face with regards to performing these behaviors effectively.
Noting that chronic pain affects about 40% of adults with diabetes, the authors discussed a study by Krein et al in 2005 that found that chronic pain was a major limiting factor in the performance of self-care behaviors for patients with diabetes, even after controlling for general health status and depressive symptoms. At present, few diabetes self-management programs address chronic pain. The authors concluded that "Patients with diabetes and chronic pain represent an important high-risk group with special needs who could greatly benefit from a practical and generalizable disease self-management program tailored to their needs."