LIVINGLIVING
TOOL FOR CHANGE
Matching care to the individual to make the most of diabetes
interventions (as well as your time spent in waiting rooms).
P
rofessor Katherine
Barnard, Chartered
Health Psychologist,
is a founder of BHR
Ltd, which 'translates
clinical research into quality of life'. She
specializes in the psychosocial impact
and management of diabetes and has
published more than 100 scientific
articles in academic journals.
Barnard has specific expertise in
the facilitators and barriers to optimal
glycaemic control and quality of life for
people living with diabetes.
Together with Dr Ralph Ziegler and
others she has developed a personal
health system called KALMOD. This is
a tool that would be used by healthcare
professionals in routine outpatient
consultations.
Based on the Kaleidoscope Model of
Care*, the KALMOD tool focuses in on
the aspects of diabetes self-management
that need the most support at the time
at which the person with diabetes is
having their consultation. Says Barnard,
"It is a tool that can be used in a dynamic
and holistic way that addresses not only
the medical aspects but also the nonmedical factors that impact on diabetes
care. By presenting HCPs with priorities
that people with diabetes have identified
for themselves using the tool, it enables
HCPs to provide individualized support in
a collaborative way with joint goal-setting
and decision making."
The way it works is that the person
with diabetes complete a brief online
questionnaire (securely hosted) and
assesses how they feel about a range
of factors that can impact positively
or negatively on their diabetes selfmanagement. These assessments are
then presented in easy-to-use results.
Barnard points out, "When anyone
approaches new therapy or technology
there are expectations both on behalf of
the individual, their family and the their
HCPs that it will work. Yet this doesn't
always happen, resulting in frustration,
feelings of failure and despair and
suboptimal outcomes, with 70% of adults
not achieving their HbA1c targets in the
UK. All of these people can't possibly be