Sammanfattning
Background: People with diabetes make complicated choices related to treatment, diet and
physical activity and cope with the associated mental stress. International and national treatment
guidelines recommend that health personnel use screeninginstruments to assess emotional, mental
and social challenges associated with diabetes.
Objective: To examine to what extent and in which settings health personnel have used the Problem
Areas in Diabetes scale (PAID) as a screeninginstrument for adults with diabetes and to describe how
using PAID affects consultations on metabolic control, mental health and well-being and self-care.
Method: Literature search was carried out in September 2014 in the databases Medline, Embase,
Cinahl and Cochrane. Search terms: «self-care», «self-management», «diabetes management»,
«mental stress», «psychological stress», «emotional stress», «HbA1c» and «hemoglobin A,
glycosylated» in combination with «Problem Areas in Diabetes» and «PAID».
Results: Diabetesrelated emotional problems were associated with poor metabolic control (HbA1c)
and reduced self-care ability. Regularly using PAID in clinical practice was associated with improved
mental well-being and communication and a more therapeutic dialogue between health-care
personnel and people with diabetes.
Conclusion: Introducing the PAID - instrument can improve health outcomes for people with diabetes.
However, larger longitudinal studies are needed to systematically evaluate the effects of
implementing PAID in clinical practice.