Patient education - new trends in Sweden

Patient education has a long history in Sweden and the field of diabetes ca re has been in the forefront of the development since the last 20 years. It is now well recognised that patients with chronic diseases must know how t o handle their situation and that the long-term outcomes very much depend o n how successful they are in their endeavour. More recently, patient educat ion was also provided outside the medical services. Group education and a n ew role of the educator as a tutor and facilitator has emerged. Education i s imparted more and more in thr form of experiential learning, (C) 2001 Els evier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.