| Diabetes Spectrum Volume 12 Number 3, 1999, Page 132
Education: A Liberating Tool Maria L. De Alva "Education is a constant process for the liberation of human beings." This quote from the Brazilian educator Pablo Freire captures the very essence of education. Education is liberating in that it enables people to overcome injustice, poverty, and fear. Education can also empower people with chronic disorders such as diabetes. Empowering people with diabetes involves teaching them how to handle all of the daily decisions they face that have a direct impact on their quality of life. The constant swings in lifestyle that result from diabetes make an individual fragile in a demanding society. If people with diabetes have not been educated to handle these daily decisions correctly, they can become a target of discrimination. Health professionals frequently tell people with diabetes that they can lead a "normal," healthy life. Given education, this is true. Without education, however, this is, sadly, not the case. Do "normal" people have to visit a health center and miss school or work as often as do people with diabetes who have not received adequate education? It is no wonder that uneducated people with diabetes often feel incapable of functioning normally and blame diabetes, using their disease as an excuse for their actions. Their family members may also treat them differently, reinforcing the already ingrained idea that they are somehow less able. A person with diabetes who has not been educated relies on the constant attention of health care providers and thus becomes overly dependent on them. Health care professionals, often without stopping to consider the root of this dependency, may treat such individuals as incompetent or ignorant. People who have not received diabetes education are also more prone to developing chronic complications, for which they sometimes feel responsible. After all, the white coat behind the desk can seem like a judge, implicitly accusing them of not complying with their prescribed treatment. This heightens their sense of incompetence and undermines their self-confidence. The risk is that these people will identify totally with the role of the passive patient who requires constant assistance. Fear of discrimination means that some people with diabetes try to hide their condition. Indeed, it is much easier to hide it than to fight the ignorance and discrimination to which people with diabetes are subjected. Children are excluded from school sports activities because of their diabetes. Young people with diabetes may encounter difficulties finding spouses. Highly trained workers are denied positions for which they are wholly qualified, simply because of their diabetes. People with diabetes receive sympathetic looks and are expected to conform to other peoples' perceptions of what their behavior should be. However, hiding diabetes is not the solution. It only makes diabetes a taboo subject. Unless we speak up about diabetes, society will accept misconceptions, and discriminatory attitudes toward people with diabetes will continue. In today's world, people with diabetes have to learn to fight for their rights. Without proper information, it is impossible for them to understand their rights and to demand them. Education is not only an important tool for the day-to-day management of diabetes. It is also what enables people with diabetes to stand up against injustice and fear. It not only empowers people with diabetes, but also helps combat an ignorant society. Only education can crush ignorance. Unfortunately, many people with diabetes around the world do not have even basic diabetes education and training. Even in highly sophisticated and developed countries, education in diabetes often is still not covered by health care systems. In developing nations, there are almost no professional educators, and education is usually given in an ad hoc manner by well-meaning but unqualified individuals. We need to change this if we really want to enhance the lives of people with diabetes. We need recognized diabetes education programs and competent professional educators for individuals with diabetes throughout the world. We need to lobby governments to include education as an integral part of diabetes programs. All of us who are concerned about this have to fight together. Next year, on the 50th anniversary of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), we have the opportunity to bring diabetes education into the new millennium. I am proud to announce that the 17th IDF Congress, to be held in Mexico City in November 2000, will host one entire track on education, nutrition, and the psychosocial aspects of diabetes. Come and be a part of the international gathering of the diabetes community, and let's place diabetes education on the global agenda. Maria L. de Alva is president of the International Diabetes Federation. Copyright © 1999 American Diabetes Association Last updated: 9/99 |