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Occupational therapy helps young adults with diabetes
June 21, 2017

By Miriam E. Tucker/Medscape

An occupational therapy intervention can help improve HbA1c and improve quality of life in young adults with diabetes, new research finds.

Results from the randomized, controlled Resilient, Empowered Active Living (REAL) diabetes study were presented June 11 here at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 2017 Scientific Sessions by Beth Pyatak, PhD, who is both an occupational therapist and a certified diabetes educator at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Occupational therapists are generally thought of in a rehabilitative context, but “It’s an emerging practice area within the past 10 years or so to focus on chronic disease management,” Dr. Pyatak told Medscape Medical News, explaining that the main goal of occupational therapy (OT) is to help people accomplish their daily tasks, of which diabetes management involves many.

Read the full article, including examples from Beth Pyatak’s talk at the American Diabetes Association 77th Scientific Sessions, at Medscape.

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