The psychological and emotional wellbeing of people with diabetes must be an integral part of diabetes care. We set out what needs to be done to achieve this.
Diabetes is a complex and demanding condition and effective management is largely dependent on how people care for themselves. Consequently the impact on emotional and psychological wellbeing can be profound.
The mental wellbeing of people living with diabetes is the responsibility of both commissioners and care providers, and support should not be limited to people with diagnosable psychological disorders. Our position statement follows on from the policy recommendations in our ‘Too Often Missing’ report and sets out UK-wide recommendations for the healthcare system to further enable emotional and psychological support for people with diabetes.
Download our full position statement on emotional and psychological support for people with diabetes as a PDF (1.4, MB)
Our recommendations for the level of integrated care we want all people with diabetes to receive can also be found in our Diabetes Mental Health Model. This work was informed by healthcare professionals with expertise in diabetes and mental health and people with lived experience and, while specifically applied to England, has recommendations suitable for the rest of the UK,
Our report and recommendations: emotional and psychological support in diabetes care
We’ve spoken to over 2,500 people affected by diabetes, and they’ve told us they need more support for emotional and psychological wellbeing in their diabetes care.
Our policy report, ‘Too often missing. Making emotional and psychological routine in diabetes care’, presents our insight work with people affected with diabetes and healthcare professionals.
The report explores the issues in depth, and makes recommendations on the changes needed across different areas. We have also outlined what needs to happen in each of the four UK nations.
