Discussion: the recent past, present, and foreseeable future of research on patient teaching

Research on diabetes patient education over the last decade has flourished in a general climate of interest in the therapeutic value of tight metabolic control. That climate is changing. Whether patient education contributes to metabolic control may not be as much a research question in the future as what specific teaching protocols and/or communication strategies produce the highest levels of cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Quality control is a growing area of interest. This paper discusses how each of the symposium presenter's remarks might contribute to research on new teaching methods to increase the overall quality of diabetes patient education.