title: Patient empowerment.
abstract: Patient empowerment is defined as helping people to discover and use their own innate ability to gain mastery over their diabetes (Funnell MM, Anderson RM. Diabetes Educ. 1991;17:37-41). While you cannot empower a patient, nurses can use strategies that will assist patients in this process. These include providing education for informed decision-making, assisting patients to weight costs and benefits of various treatment options, setting self-selected behavioral goals, and providing information about the importance of their role in self-management (Funnell et al. Diabetes Educ. 2003;29:454-464). The skills needed by nurses include asking questions in order to understand the patients' fears, concerns, and priorities, listening to responses, and educating and supporting patients for on-going self-management.
authors.affiliation: Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center, University of Michigan Medical School, 1331 E Ann St, Rm 5111, Box 0830, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. mfunnell@med.umich.edu
authors.forename: Martha M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Funnell
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010358:Patient Participation; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy