During the week two sessions we focused on; exploring the system and new services that could be put into place in order to best address the needs of diabetes patients; how the cards concept could work best with patients; and identifying situations in which the cards would be of most use.
Key feedback from week two was that there did appear to be a need for a person who fulfilled a role in increasing the motivation of people (where motivation is defined on the basis of being "an ability to act on knowledge".) This develops on the idea that existing treatment is knowledge-based and that some patients would benefit from additional support that helps them to act on the existing support that is being provided. In order to address the divergent needs of patients it was felt that this position should be as an independent patient champion, and that they should be able to select this person based on their specific needs.
Areas that still need to be addressed are; how long patients would have this support; how this support may relate to the Asian patients; how this fits alongside the use of the cards as a tool for more effective consultations for clinicians; how the cards could be tested; and how the motivational interviewing skills can be built into the core competence framework.
All thoughts welcome!

CATEGORY: HEALTH PROJECT