The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes (ACBRD) welcomes the release of the world’s first clinical guideline on diabetes distress. Launched at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting in Vienna, this milestone represents a turning point in diabetes care.
Importantly, people with lived experience of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes were active members of the Guideline Development Panel from the outset. Their contributions helped shape the clinical questions, interpretation of evidence, and formulation of recommendations, ensuring that the final guideline is firmly grounded in the real-world needs and priorities of adults with diabetes.
“This guideline validates what our Study Group has long advocated – that the emotional and psychological aspects of diabetes are not secondary concerns, but fundamental components of comprehensive diabetes care,” said Professor Jane Speight, Chair of the PSAD Study Group and CoChair of the EASD’s Guideline Development Panel. “The EASD’s decision to make diabetes distress the focus of their inaugural clinical guideline sends a powerful message about the importance of psychosocial health in diabetes management.”
What is diabetes distress?
Diabetes can make people feel frustrated, guilty, annoyed, sad, worried, or stressed. This emotional burden of living with diabetes is known as “diabetes distress”. Research shows around one in three adults with diabetes experience serious distress, and up to 80% report at least some diabetes-related problems in their daily lives. For example, frustrations with blood glucose levels, worries about complications, exhausted by the daily demands of self-care. These feelings can affect how people manage their diabetes and their lives more broadly.
Check out ACBRD’s past blogs to learn more about diabetes distress.
Why is this guideline important?
Until now, health professionals had no evidence-based guidance on how to identify and address diabetes distress.
This new guideline promotes respectful, person-centred care that meets each individuals’ needs. It includes new evidence-based:
- Good Practice Statements about the routine assessment of diabetes distress, using simple questions and validated tools.
- Recommendations about how to manage diabetes distress, e.g., psychological interventions, peer support, psychoeducation, technology.
Importantly, people living with diabetes played a key role in shaping the guideline, so it reflects real-world challenges. Learn more about guidelines development here.
The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes’ role
The guideline was co-led by Professor Jane Speight, ACBRD’s Foundation Director, and Professor Richard Holt (University of Southampton, UK). The guideline aligns strongly with the ACBRD’s research and advocacy. We are proud our work has helped shape this global standard and will continue to support health professionals to put it into practice.
Professor Jane Speight, The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes, Deakin University and Co-Chair of the Guideline Development Panel, said: “We hope that this guideline will empower healthcare professionals to routinely assess and address the emotional burden of living with diabetes, ultimately improving outcomes for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes across Europe and beyond.”
Read the full media release and access the guideline to learn more.
Read more about our research into diabetes distress at The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes
Read more Professor Jane Speight’s research
Source: European Association for the Study of Diabetes
