PATIENT EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC

In Japan, about 97% of diabetic patients suffer from non-insulin depen dent diabetes. Because of its insidious onset, public education with r egard to diabetes is very important. According to a survey in 1989, ap proximately 87% of diabetic patients were treated at hospitals. Consid ering the difficulty of organizing an educational team targetting smal l clinics, diabetes education should be provided with close cooperatio n between hospitals and local clinics. Since 1967, National Diabetes W eek is annually held in the second week of November; in more than 150 cities and towns, lecture meetings, screening tests and consultation b y physicians and health professionals are performed under the sponsors hip of the Japan Diabetes Society and the Japan Association of Diabete s Care and Education. The Japan Diabetes Society has edited 'Diabetes Treatment Guide' and 'Meal Exchange List' since 1961 to provide the mi nimum requirement of knowledge and skill in the diabetes treatment reg imen. More than 850 hospitals and clinics now have a particular educat ional program. Admission for the education of diabetic patients is pro vided by 366 hospitals. In 1991, summer camps for children were held a t 37 sites, where about 1200 patients participated. For the training o f the educators, the Japan Diabetes Society and several other organiza tions offer many lecture meetings and courses with experiential format ; the curriculum for diabetes educators is expected to be much improve d in the near future.