New survey explores the impact of insulin injections on people with diabetes

The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) today announced results from a survey conducted by Harris Interactive highlighting communication between people with diabetes that require insulin injections and their healthcare providers. According to the survey results, 33 percent of respondents have experienced some level of dread relating to insulin injections (eight percent strongly agreed/25 percent somewhat agreed), 14 percent of individuals surveyed felt that the insulin injections had a negative impact on their life (three percent experience a major negative impact/11 percent experience a moderate negative impact) and more than 29 percent of individuals surveyed felt that injecting insulin was the hardest aspect of their diabetes care (eight percent strongly agree/21 percent somewhat agree). However, even though insulin injections had such an impact on these individuals, 52 percent do not proactively discuss their concerns regarding the physical and emotional aspects of injecting with their healthcare provider.

For a proportion of the individuals surveyed, 37 percent, this was due in part to a misconception that discussing these issues would be a bother to their healthcare provider. Yet, a corresponding survey of healthcare professionals (PCPs, endocrinologists and diabetes educators) paints a different story. Seventy-one percent of healthcare professionals are aware of the impact that insulin injections have on their patients' quality of life and 40 percent have initiated a dialogue in the past with their patients about these issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 24 million people in the U.S. with diabetes, and more than six million of them take injections of some kind as part or all of their treatment. (1)

"There are millions of individuals living in the U.S. with diabetes that take injections." said Amparo Gonzalez, RN, BSN, CDE, president of the AADE.

"When developing the survey we had two goals in mind, the first was to encourage patients to take a more proactive role in communicating with their healthcare team about their concerns regarding insulin injections. The second was to dispel the myth that healthcare providers were unaware of or were unwilling to address the quality of life issues surrounding insulin injections. It is our hope that the results from this survey accomplish both these goals and that patients and providers will begin talking regularly about these important issues. If we can improve the quality of life for 33 percent of people with diabetes who are insulin dependent, then we can be one step closer to lessening the impact of the disease on our patients' lives."

To reinforce the goals of the Injection Impact Report, and to continue to address the issues surrounding communication and barriers to patient adherence, the AADE created the Injection Impact Report Discussion Group comprised of a team of physicians, diabetes educators, patients and other healthcare providers whose mission is to heighten awareness of injection issues. In response to the results from the Injection Impact Report, the Discussion Group is developing tools for patients and healthcare providers to help foster increased communication around these issues.