Developing motivation and empowerment in diabetes care.

Management of incurable chronic diseases, such as diabetes, relies to a great extent on the active participation of the individual with the disease. Yet a diagnosis of diabetes can have a significant psychological impact on someone which affects his or her motivation to participate. Management of the disease therefore requires a different approach to care than the curative approach which nurses are taught. This article examines techniques that can be used to engage people in their own care, increasing motivation and empowerment and leading to greater self-management of their condition.