Background: Preconception counseling (PC) significantly and inexpensively reduces risks of reproductive-health complications for women with diabetes. Our validated technology-based preconception counseling intervention, , is tailored for female teens with type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes and targets decision-making regarding effective family planning and seeking PC. Our teen-focused research was instrumental in changing the American Diabetes Association's Practice Recommendations to specify that preconception counseling should "Start at puberty…".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a self-instructional preconception counseling (PC) training program for Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) to enhance PC knowledge and self-efficacy.
Methods: A 1-group, pre-post test study was conducted with 31 CDEs from a large medical center in western Pennsylvania. The self-instructional program included selected readings, such as the American Diabetes Association's position statement on PC of women with diabetes and an interactive CD-ROM, "Reproductive-Health Awareness for Teenage Women With Diabetes" ("READY-Girls").