Our Mission
Our long-term mission is to make a positive change in how health professionals support people with chronic and complex conditions.
We want people living with diabetes and other chronic conditions to be more involved in designing a solution that fits their lifestyle and as a result, reducing the risk of complications and improving mental wellbeing.
Our aim is to research and implement GSD programs for other health conditions of people living with diabetes such as mental health, cancer, CVD, COPD and obesity.
We also want to apply this research to others where high-quality conversations make a real differences: healthcare workforce and university student wellbeing.
Why we do what we do?
We demonstrated with our research that the GSD program when used with GSD-trained health professionals increases motivation to self-manage diabetes in the Australian health context.
We know that the GSD program works but it what our early adopters (both health professionals and their clients) are saying about our GSD training and platform that keeps us going. And if you want to see it for yourself, keep reading.
Young people with diabetes share their thoughts about GSD
“I'm glad I received the opportunity to participate as it changed my life :)”
“Being able to talk about different challenges to diabetes that you don't tend to talk about with the endocrinologist”
“The conversations and questions (the problem solving method) were great tools that I will genuinely use again and again”
“I was able to understand my diabetes and problems thoroughly”
“I liked the open/candid conversations”
“The program was flexible’
“How it allowed me to be honest about my struggles and not feel shame. Made me feel very supported and gave me so many options to control my BGLs I didn't know I had”
“In all I think it's really good in being able to talk/rant about diabetes but also come up with strategies to help combat those challenges!”
“GSD gave me a chance to reflect on my chronic condition management”
“It was a great experience”
“GSD helped me to feel like I was receiving emotional support to achieve my goals instead of just focusing on physical aspects of diabetes management. It helped me to consider short and long term goals. I was able to reflect on the bigger picture of my diabetes since diagnosis and to see how well I have managed myself over the last 10 years which I had lost sight of during a recent rough patch. Being able to complete the program in my own home was also extremely convenient for someone who lives in a regional area”
“I have finished all my sessions, I really enjoyed them. Each session was relevant for me, the tool was simple and easy to follow. It didn’t try to complicate our discussion, it just made us more focused and gave some direction”
“The way GSD ran was different because usually they [the health professionals] tell you what to do, you have to just tell them about your sugars, how you feel physically and they tell you what to do. With my diabetes educator in the GSD program they ask me about my experiences and emotions, and I can suggest things that might work, and find something that actually might work for me instead of something that someone else has come up with”.
Diabetes educators share their thoughts about GSD
“Where shall I start! Thank you! For myself it was a very valuable and rewarding experience that has taught me a lot.”
“It was a useful tool to structure and guide the conversations which aided keeping things on track.”
“It has been a steep, worthwhile learning curve. Putting theory into practice with young adults was challenging and encouraged me to critically review my interactions.”
“Based on your experience of using GSD, name at least one way in which your communication with your clients in general has changed”, responses were:
I ask a lot more questions with the intention to give the client the feeling that they are in control
The focus on the client's experience. - Giving more space and time for the client to express their perception and perspective throughout the process.
Remembering to pause to allow time for the patient to think and respond. Revisiting the 3 types of communication to help the patient identify the key issues. Also re looking at ways to address a problem in a different way, help them reflect on what has been happening- things to work on and things going well.
open conversations, less pre determined appointments, open to look at other things that impact of self care
I pause more to allow more time for clients to think and respond
In response to Active listening and mirroring has been excellent to begin the conversation.”
“The traditional consult is where the client is coming to look for a solution from you and you need to provide that, and if asked ‘Are there any other concerns?’ they can’t come up with anything but when you start using the GSD program and asking questions and for their reflections and using clarification and it opens up conversation and you get a totally different person and you get a lot of other questions come up and then they become the solution giver, they can solve their own problems”.
“Based on their experience of doing GSD with your clients, name at least one way in which you think the young adults you worked with may have changed the way they self-manage their diabetes or approach to living with diabetes”, responses were:
That they are now making the decisions about how they deal with their diabetes. They feel more in control
With both clients there was a shift from "I should do" to "this is how I see the challenge".
Looking at challenges with a different perspective. Remembering to reflect back. Also breaking down a challenge and working practically with what they can do.
have more open thoughts, be less strung up about the expectations from other HCP, be more actively involved with HCP appointments to meet their own needs,
not trying to 'fix/solve' everything all at once
Think outside the box, I would hope the client would reflect on the steps in the process.”