Currently, more than 14 million people in the US have been diagnosed with diabetes. It is estimated that another 6.2 million people are undiagnosed. Diabetes is a chronic disease that needs to be carefully managed and closely monitored. If diabetes is not managed well or is left untreated it can lead to serious, sometimes life-threatening complications, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and limb amputations. According to a new GfK Roper Public Affairs survey of people with diabetes, sponsored by Bayer Diabetes Care, 80 percent reported that they are not managing their disease well.

"I have spent my life teaching people how to set and accomplish goals in their personal and professional lives, and am now applying my habits to help people better manage their diabetes," said Covey. "I know diabetes can be challenging to live with, and I have gained an even deeper understanding of that fact since my wife was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Together, with changes in behavior, we turned the diabetes ‘curve ball' into an opportunity to learn, grow and deepen our lives."

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® with Diabetes booklet is a practical resource guide to help people with diabetes adapt life management skills as defined by Covey's "7 Habits" and apply them to the AADE7™ Self-Care Behaviors to achieve better disease management.

The booklet advises people to take small steps to manage their chronic illness and to incorporate each of the self-care behaviors into their lives. For example, by applying Covey's Habit 1: Be Proactive, people with diabetes are encouraged to actively take responsibility for managing their condition by following the AADE7™ Self-Care Behaviors, such as healthy eating, being active and monitoring blood glucose levels. Also included is an action plan for setting easy-to-achieve self-care goals, one at a time.

"With the increasing epidemic of diabetes, the time is right to provide people living with this chronic illness a new approach to facilitate the needed behavior change to positively impact their disease," said Donna Rice, MBA, BSN, RN, CDE, president of the AADE and a diabetes educator. "Covey's habits, paired with the AADE7™ Self-Care Behaviors, do just that. We're grateful to Bayer Diabetes Care for supporting the development of this important resource, which is also valuable for family, friends and caretakers of those diagnosed with diabetes."

The GfK Roper Public Affairs March 2007 survey, conducted among 1,069 U.S. adults with diabetes, was designed to identify the specific points when managing one's life and managing one's diabetes do not match up, as well as the barriers that adults living with diabetes need to overcome. To gather these findings, the survey questions were based on the life management habits outlined in Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® and the American Association of Diabetes Educators' AADE7™ Self-Care Behaviors. Survey data were weighted to reflect the demographic profile of the U.S. adult population, doctor-diagnosed with diabetes. The margin of sampling error is plus/minus five percentage points.
The GfK Roper Public Affairs March 2007 survey, conducted among 1,069 U.S. adults with diabetes, was designed to identify the specific points when managing one's life and managing one's diabetes do not match up, as well as the barriers that adults living with diabetes need to overcome. To gather these findings, the survey questions were based on the life management habits outlined in Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® and the American Association of Diabetes Educators' AADE7™ Self-Care Behaviors. Survey data were weighted to reflect the demographic profile of the U.S. adult population, doctor-diagnosed with diabetes. The margin of sampling error is plus/minus five percentage points.

Using the habits outlined in Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®, as well as the AADE7™ Self-Care Behaviors, survey respondents were classified into the following four segments and compared:

• those that manage both their life and diabetes well; 12 percent
• those that manage neither their life nor diabetes well; 56 percent
• those that manage their life, but not their diabetes well; 24 percent
• those that manage their diabetes, but not their life well; 8 percent

The survey suggests that successfully mastering specific life management skills can have a very positive impact on one's diabetes as well. For instance, prioritizing is critical. Adults with diabetes who manage their lives and diabetes well are twice as likely as those who manage neither their lives nor their condition effectively to say they excel at prioritizing and acting on important issues in their lives (90 percent vs. 46 percent). When it comes to diabetes management, it should be a high priority for people to monitor their blood sugar daily in order to maintain consistent blood glucose level control. The survey found that those who manage their lives and diabetes well are more likely than those not managing either well to test their blood sugar seven days a week (75 percent vs. 59 percent).
For more information about The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® with Diabetes, or to receive a copy at no charge, please go to www.diabetes7.org