Self-Efficacy and Diabetes: Why Is Emotional ‘Education’ Important and How Can It Be Achieved?

Adequate age-appropriate diabetes knowledge and skills are essential to the success of diabetes self- and parental care. Health professionals have a central role in providing diabetes education. A direct link between diabetes knowledge and diabetes regimen behaviour cannot be assumed. Health professionals have to help children and their parents to develop the emotional concept of 'self-efficacy for diabetes self-care', to ensure optimal diabetes control.