Attitudes towards diabetes and its care: Evaluation before, immediately post-course and ≥ 1 year after a practical, international inter-disciplinary course for diabetes teams

The objective of the study was to evaluate differences in attitudes to diabetes and its management among diabetes health care professionals, and to evaluate whether these attitudes could be persistently modified by participation in courses in practical diabetology. The courses emphasize self-care, inter-disciplinary teamwork and applicability of acquired knowledge. Pre- and immediate post-course evaluation as well as a ≥ 1 year post-course follow-up of attitudes to 12 general but central statements concerning diabetes and its management was performed for 144 participants (80 physicians, 52 nurses and 12 other team members) from 28 countries. Both pre- and post-course attitudes to the statements varied considerably even among experienced diabetes professionals. In general, a shift in attitudes in the intended direction was observed at the immediate post-course test. These changes were to a large extent maintained more than one year post-course although a large variability persisted. We conclude that international and inter-disciplinary education of health professionals is feasible and successful despite major linguistic and cultural barriers.