Diabetes and Cancer Co-management Education: Leveraging the Patient Activated Learning System (PALS) for Patients with Breast Cancer

Abstract

More than 70% of cancer patients have one or more comorbid conditions, and diabetes is one of the most common and burdensome comorbidities. However, existing patient-centered education materials often fail to acknowledge how to co-manage cancer and diabetes, leaving patients feeling overwhelmed and searching for guidance. Our team sought to fill this knowledge gap by using the Patient Activated Learning System (PALS), a patient-centered, publicly available platform, to generate patient-centered education materials about co-managing diabetes and cancer. Using insights from 15 patient interview transcripts, we developed eight reusable knowledge objects (RKOs) for a variety of common questions that patients have about co-managing diabetes and cancer. The RKOs were written in collaboration with researchers and clinicians and then peer reviewed by experts. The eight evidence-based RKOs have the potential to equip patients with the knowledge to support cancer and diabetes co-management. There are no existing patient-centered educational resources to help patients manage their diabetes during cancer treatments. We filled this gap by using the Patient Activated Learning System (PALS) to generate evidence-based, patient-facing educational information that was written by researchers and clinicians and peer reviewed by experts. This educational content will support cancer and diabetes co-management for patients.

Keywords: Cancer and diabetes management; Patient-centered education.