Diabetes and community nursing

Abstract

The rising prevalence of diabetes, particularly in older people, is placing an unsustainable burden on district and community nursing teams. District and community nurses now handle complex diabetes management, including insulin administration, glucose monitoring, foot screening and patient education, despite workforce shortages. Hospital discharges often add to their workload, as many people with diabetes lose confidence in self-management and rely on district and community nurses for insulin injections. Without proper training and support, district nurses struggle to provide holistic care, leading to poorer patient outcomes. Better collaboration between hospital teams, diabetes specialists and primary care providers is essential to address this issue. Investing in nurse education and technology, such as continuous glucose monitoring, could reduce home visits and ease the pressure on district nurses while improving diabetes care.

Keywords: community nurses; diabetes; district nurses; education; self-efficacy; workload.