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NDPW SIG Newsletter - Winter 2021
In This Issue:

  • Message from the Chair
  • Diabetic Education Survey Results
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Member News
  • Campus Notes
  • Request for Newsletter Contributions
  • In the News
Message from the Chair

Greetings and Happy New Year!
As we enter 2022, the NDPW SIG leadership team would like to wish you a wonderful, healthy year ahead. To kick off the new year, we are excited to share recipes from Visionary Kitchen: A Cookbook for Eye Health in this special edition of our newsletter. 

If you were able to attend the symposium in Boston, we thank you for joining us. It was wonderful seeing old friends and making new ones at the conference. We had a wonderful turnout for our symposium: You Are What You Eat (and Smoke). We would like to thank our speakers, Dr. Kim Reed and Dr. Julie Poteet. This dynamic duo put on a great lecture. A huge thanks to Dr. Julie Poteet for covering Dr. Richer’s lecture on Cannabis. Dr. Kim Reed continued the symposium with a fascinating lecture on trendy diets. She included information on intermittent fasting and the mTor pathway. Dr. Poteet rounded out the lecture with an indepth look at the anti-inflammatory diet. Thank you to our wonderful lecturers.

As you may remember from our Fall Newsletter, the NDPW SIG wants to know how you approach diabetes education in your practice. Thank you to those who participated in our survey. Survey results, as well as recommendations for improving diabetes patient education, are shared below. 

We are also excited to share the new SIG Facebook page. Through this resource we hope to connect with you and share everything from new superfood recipes, to the latest ocular nutrition studies, to SIG events and more. Please like and follow the page!

We'd also like to hear your feedback. What would you like to see from the SIG in terms of newsletter content and future events? Do you have ideas to help promote the SIG and promote wellness education among fellow optometrists? Please feel free to reach out to me or any of the SIG officers anytime to share your ideas, or for opportunities to become an active member of the SIG. 


Best regards,

April M. Lewis, OD, FAAO, Dipl (CEC)
Nutrition, Disease Prevention, and Wellness Chair
Diabetic Education Survey Results

The NDPW SIG set out to learn how optometrists approach diabetes education in their practices, with the goal of sharing tips to improve diabetes education. Though only 33 SIG members responded, the Fall 2021 survey yielded valuable insights into common practices, and great ideas for connecting to our patients.
 
The majority of respondents reported their office provides verbal patient education with regard to both ocular and systemic health. Most often the education is provided by the optometrist themselves, though support staff, interns, and other specialists contribute to the effort in many practices. All practitioners choose to verbally discuss diabetic recommendations and education with each patient, and many share that using printed pamphlets, posters, or videos to reinforce key concepts helps them provide more comprehensive care.
 
During patient education, providers are most often discussing the concepts below:

  • blood glucose/HbA1c                                   
  • dilated exam annually, or more often as indicated
  • nutrition
  • exercise
  • medication adherence
  • blood pressure
  • smoking cessation
  • PCP/Endocrinology followup
  • cholesterol

Interestingly, podiatric care is rarely discussed and dental care is never discussed, according to survey results
Some optometrists feel, despite their best efforts, that patient education does not result in positive lifestyle changes. Patient denial and/or lack of personal motivation was the most commonly reported barrier to effective patient education. Several respondents noted inadequate provider time was also a significant barrier. Additional barriers are listed below.
To help overcome these barriers, respondents shared some helpful and unique approaches to effective patient education, including their personal recommendations and specific resources:

A common theme was to set a good example for healthy living, and to help patients to understand how they can make healthier choices in their daily menu and activity levels.  

This most often included discussing the effect of diet and providing resources for learning about diabetic friendly foods. Many optometrists reported using visual aids for this purpose, and even shared a few of their favorites: a chart that shows how many sugar cubes are in common foods and drinks; examples of food choices that can improve blood glucose control, and a poster that helps to explain a healthy diabetic diet. It is also important to make patients with diabetes aware of nutritional education programs that are available and covered by insurance. One optometrist shares that nutrition and diabetes education “is a recognized part of diabetic care and is covered by Medicare and most health insurance plans when it is offered through an accredited diabetes education program. Two organizations, ADCES and the American Diabetes Association, accredit diabetes education programs. Search for an accredited diabetes education program in your area.”

Education may also include discussing exercise options. One optometrist suggests joint-sensitive exercise such as swimming, water aerobics, cycling, and walking. Furthermore, some suggested discussing the consequences of poor disease control and using aids such as Rendia videos or fundus photographs to demonstrate changes in the body when blood glucose is poorly controlled.  

An insightful SIG member reminds us to congratulate patients on their successes and give positive encouragement, while another stresses the importance of choosing our words carefully so that we are not lecturing or “fat shaming” our patients. We are encouraged to ask questions about their lifestyle and have a conversation, rather than simply listing dos and don’ts.  

The NDPW SIG hopes you feel this survey and our member recommendations are a helpful reminder and motivator to focus on and improve your diabetic education. If you have additional insights to share, or ideas for a future survey, please email SIG Chair April Lewis at the address given below.
Member News

Are you sharing your nutrition related education at an upcoming education event? Please inform us of your accepted papers, posters, lectures, or other publications. We would also love to hear of your personal awards and accomplishments and to include them in future newsletters. Please forward updates to aprilmlewisod@gmail.com.  
Campus Notes

Do you have a Nutrition, Disease Prevention, and/or Wellness group at your optometry school? Do you know of faculty members who teach nutrition? We want to hear from you! Claire Pizzimenti, OD, FAAO, serves as the SIG’s Student Outreach Coordinator. Please send updates to pizzimentis@gmail.com to share how you are including these important topics on your campus or student/resident teaching site!

Request for Newsletter Contributions

If you have cases, studies, or clinical pearls that you would like to share with us, we want to hear from you! We would also love to hear your ideas for future NDPW SIG symposiums and newsletters. Please forward updates to drwinter@creyecare.com. 
In the News






Mission Statement

The mission of the Nutrition, Disease Prevention and Wellness SIG is to promote excellent patient care with lifestyle and nutritional support for prevention and management of eye diseases and related systemic disorders through professional education, scientific investigation, and multidisciplinary collaboration. We strive to foster camaraderie and mentorship for students, doctors, and researchers interested in nutritional science as it relates to eye care.
Leadership

Chair:
April M. Lewis, OD, FAAO,
Dipl (CEC)

Vice Chair:
Christine Winter-Rundell, OD, FCOVD, FAAO

Immediate Past Chair:
A. Paul Chous, MA, OD, FAAO

Program Chair:
Whitney Catanio, OD, FAAO