The challenge of conducting clinical research in diabetes care and education

The current healthcare environment requires diabetes educators to design their care and education programs around findings in scientific- and research-based literature. They must be confident that what they do makes a difference in terms of patient outcomes. Although diabetes educators recognize the importance of research as a basis for their practice, they often do not see themselves as responsible for participating in the process. Clinicians such as diabetes educators are in an ideal position to incorporate research into their practice because they are the most knowledgeable about the clinical problems that need to be solved. The challenges of conducting clinical research will be explored in this article along with ways to promote greater participation of diabetes educators in conducting research in their practices.