Addressing barriers to diabetes care and self-care in general practice : a new framework for practice nurses

There has been extensive research on the barriers to diabetes care and self-management and whilst patient-centred care is hearlded as the best method of overcoming these barriers, target-driven systems can make this difficult to deliver. This paper describes a pilot study of a new approach to conducting diabetes annual reviews that was carried out across 17 general practices in Cambridgeshire. This involved the use of a questionnaire which aimed to identify barriers to care for people with diabetes. Practice nurses involved were encouraged to give feedback and an evaluation of the approach was conducted using practice visit notes, interview data and observations.