Group education in diabetes: Effectiveness and implementation. Diabetes Spectrum, 16, 96-103, National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators

Groups offer a forum for people with diabetes to gather and learn together. Group attendees and educators have an opportunity to use creative approach-es to learning. This article defines groups, discusses related constructs, reviews effectiveness research and some of its unanswered questions, describes imple-mentation challenges, and offers skill-building suggestions to educators who use groups as a part of an educational practice. Since the 1970s, teaching people in groups has been seen as an effective intervention for diabetes education. Traditional group diabetes education was a 5-day inpatient course—a scheduled event in which a nurse and dietitian co-taught patients with dia-betes the information and skills need-ed at home. The focus was on teach