The Diabetes and Mental Health (DMH) Initiative was featured in a news release published last month by the team at the Caswell Diabetes Institute (CDI). The news article highlighted the work of the CDI Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), which engages a diverse group of community members who have lived experience with diabetes in the work of the CDI. This past year, the PFAC has contributed their expertise to a variety of research projects and initiatives that focus on the psychosocial aspects of diabetes care and management, including stigma, emotional distress, diabetes education, and caregiving.

As the article highlights, we have collaborated with the PFAC to inform our work on the DMH Study, which aims to generate novel data and actionable insights to address stigma, diabetes-related distress, and the emotional or psychological burden of diabetes management. Over the course of the project, we brought our works-in-progress and questions to the PFAC, who shared their personal experiences of diabetes-related stigma and made concrete recommendations that guided our research focus. Overall, the input of the PFAC and their lived experience of the emotional aspects of living or caring for someone with diabetes has been invaluable to our development of this project. You can read the full news article here.