Over the past 5 years, the Diabetes Discoveries & Practice Blog (DDP) published more than 150 blog posts featuring the perspectives of subject matter experts on the front lines of diabetes research, management, and prevention. As diabetes technologies and treatments continue to advance, the blog will keep providing updates about current practices and emerging viewpoints for health care professionals. To celebrate this milestone, check out 5 of our favorite posts from the last 5 years.

Motivational Interviewing: Do’s and Don’ts

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a set of communication techniques providers use in conversation with patients to help spark behavior changes in people with chronic conditions, such as diabetes. In motivational interviewing, the provider serves as a guide, and the patient steers the conversation. Ken Resnicow, PhD, highlights several strategies for using MI with patients.

The Social Determinants of Health and Diabetes

Social determinants of health are the primary contributors to unfair and avoidable differences in health status, including risk for developing diabetes and diabetes complications. Felicia Hill-Briggs, PhD, a clinical psychologist and behavioral scientist, explains how unequal distribution of social resources can lead to disproportionately negative health outcomes, and what can be done to address such inequities.

Helping Patients with Diabetes Manage Stress

People with diabetes face stress related to health status, as well as system-based challenges, such as structural racism or inadequate health resources. These stressors can result in increased blood glucose levels for people with type 2 diabetes. Krystal M. Lewis, PhD, discusses how health care professionals can support patients with diabetes to manage their stress.

Achieving Type 2 Diabetes Remission through Weight Loss

Health care professionals can help patients with type 2 diabetes achieve remission through lifestyle changes or metabolic surgery. William Cefalu, MD, director of the NIDDK’s Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases, breaks down the science behind type 2 diabetes remission and research-backed strategies to achieve it.

Reducing Disparities in Diabetic Amputations

About 200,000 people in the United States have amputations each year, and about 130,000 of those people have diabetes. Amputations are more common among people who live in the southern United States, come from certain racial and ethnic minority groups, are older, or have a lower socioeconomic status. Foluso A. Fakorede, MD, a cardiologist in Bolivar County, MS, discusses the risk factors for peripheral arterial disease that can lead to amputation in patients with diabetes and how health care professionals can help reduce disparities.

What topics do you want to see covered next on the blog? Tell us below in the comments, and make sure you’re subscribed to the blog to be notified of new blog posts.