Attitudes and beliefs

Attitudes and beliefs influence how participants behave in a group and how we behave as DAFNE educators. No matter what the purpose of the group is, people bring their whole person to the group.

Although individuals attend DAFNE to learn how to self-manage their diabetes, they also have an entire ‘other’ life going on including family, work, financial and other health issues. These issues cannot be separated from their diabetes management. We need to appreciate this so that we do not discount the factors that impact on individuals’ self-management.

Equally, we as healthcare professionals bring our whole person to the group. Most of us have invested a significant amount of time and effort, working hard to develop the expertise and knowledge necessary for our roles. In our day-to-day clinical interactions with people with type 1 diabetes we are usually trying to meet some of our own needs as well as theirs.

As healthcare professionals working in diabetes, we need to feel effective, and may view the diabetes management skills of the people with type 1 diabetes that we interact with clinically as a measure of our effectiveness. Sometimes we may feel that we ‘know best’ and are ‘responsible’ for a person’s self-management choices. In reality we have no control over those choices. Feeling responsible for what we cannot control can lead to feeling discouraged, frustrated and ineffective.

By considering the attitudes and beliefs of course participants and understanding our own attitudes and beliefs we will be more effective as DAFNE educators.