Table 1.

A list of recommended topics for diabetes educators with regards to insulin injections.

Adapted from Teaching injection technique to people with diabetes [19]

Recommended topics for diabetes educators  Education about injection technique for delivery of insulin, including a review of hypoglycaemia (causes, detection, treatment and prevention) as well as when to check blood glucose and individualised pre- and post-meal targets  Periodic review of injection technique and sites, especially when blood glucose control is suboptimal  Use, care and action of the medications(s) to be administered  Choice of injection devices, considering ease of use and patient limitations including cost, manual dexterity, hearing and visual impairment  For pre-filled devices, considering opened expiration date, total number of units/mg in device and daily dose when choosing devices, when applicable  Injection site selection and rotation, including teaching patient to examine sites for lipohypertrophy  Choice of needle: length and gauge to maximise comfort and efficiency Technique  Timing of injection, related to the effect of the medication, meals, activity and stressors  Targets for dosing adjustments related to monitoring, activity stressors, and meals  Injection discomfort and complications  Safe disposal of used sharps  Quality control including medication storage considerations, opened and unopened expiration dates  Inspection of the injectable medication before each use