This index of patient education handouts is organized by topic, allowing diabetes educators to easily select the most relevant materials for each visit. Each title links directly to a downloadable, printable handout for patient use.
What is Diabetes?
What is Diabetes?
This booklet provides a high level overview of topics including definitions of the different types of diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, monitoring blood glucose, medications, and setting glucose goals. It is written for low literacy patients and uses drawings to illustrate the topics. It is available in English and Spanish from Learning About Diabetes, Inc.
4 Steps to Manage Your Diabetes for Life
This booklet is for newly diagnosed patients with diabetes. It is written for low literacy patients and is available in English and Spanish from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Working With Your Diabetes Care Team
Having a team of healthcare providers and specialists is essential for managing diabetes. Patients can use this handout to track their appointments with these providers and specialists. The optimal time between appointments and descriptions of the healthcare team members are included.
Medication for Diabetes
Learning About Diabetes Medications
This handout lists oral medications and how they work on the body. It also explains how to best take them. It is available in multiple languages from Scripps.
Injectable Medications
This handout includes a table of oral and injectable medications (GLP-1 agonists and insulin), including insulin types with onset, peak, and duration times. It is available in multiple languages from Scripps.
Giving Yourself Insulin
This handout uses drawings to illustrate the steps to give injections with a syringe or pen. It is
written for low literacy patients and is available from Scripps.
What to Do With Used Sharps
This handout defines a sharp, includes pictures of appropriate containers to dispose of
needles and lancets, and instructions on disposal. This is specific to Ohio and is available from safeneedledisposal.org
Managing Your Medications
This handout explains the basics about taking medications, gives tips about how to remember to take them, and provides a form for a medication list. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Dietary Supplements and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Table 1 in this resource discusses common used dietary supplements used for diabetes. It is available from Cardi-OH.
Diabetes and Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know
This fact sheet provides an overview of scientific research on the effectiveness and safety of selected supplements for managing type 2 diabetes. It is available from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Drugs Interaction Checker
This resource can help you find interactions between medications.
Blood Glucose Monitoring
How to Test Your Blood Sugar
This handout provides general directions with pictures of how to check blood sugar using a meter. It is available in multiple languages from Scripps.
Blood Glucose Log
This is a two-week log, which includes before and after meal-time slots, a medication log, and a notes section. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Tracking Blood Glucose
This handout outlines how to use glucometer data, what information to include in a glucose log, and explains the importance of looking at blood glucose trends to make changes. It is written for high literacy patients and is available from the American Diabetes Association.
What Do My Numbers Mean?
This handout provides information on normal blood glucose responses to meals, It also describes the American Diabetes Association blood glucose targets for most nonpregnant adults. It is available in multiple languages from Scripps.
What Does A1C Mean?
This handout illustrates how A1C levels correspond with average glucose values, showing the level of control with a color gradient from green to red. There is also an area to record a patient’s A1C goal. It is available in multiple languages from Scripps.
Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia
Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia) and Symptoms of Hyperglycemia (High Blood Sugar)
These handouts define hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia and include recommended actions for treating these conditions. They are written for low literacy patients and use illustrations to depict associated symptoms. They are available in multiple languages from Scripps.
Factors Affecting Blood Glucose
This handout presents factors that raise or lower sugar levels. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Hypoglycemia in Diabetes: The 15-15 Rule
This is an infographic explaining the three levels of hypoglycemia and the 15-15 Rule for treatment. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes Alert Card
This foldable wallet card includes symptoms of hypoglycemia, recommended actions to treat, and a space for the patient to enter emergency contact information. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Healthy Eating With Diabetes
Nutrition for Life: The Diabetes Plate Method
This handout explains how to use the portion plate to help improve diabetes. It gives examples of foods in each category (vegetables, grains, proteins, fruits, fats, and beverages) including how to measure portion sizes. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Plan Your Portions
This handout includes a picture of a plate divided into food groups with examples of food for each macronutrient portion. It also includes helpful tips on measuring food portions and examples of foods to eat often or sometimes and foods to avoid. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Plan Your Portions Diabetes Placemat
The diabetes placemat is a simple guide to planning meals and managing portions.
Nutrition Facts Label
This handout includes a picture of the new food label with notes about what to eat less of and how to read carbohydrates. It is available from Learning About Diabetes, Inc..
What Can I Eat?
This handout lists low carbohydrate and carbohydrate-containing foods and includes pictures. It also shows a food label and provides a one-day sample meal plan. It is available from Learning About Diabetes, Inc..
Physical Activity
Tips for Being Active With Diabetes
This handout explains how to get started with activity and recommended duration. It gives examples of physical activities and discusses safety considerations for exercising with diabetes. It is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Being Active
This handout highlights aspects of physical activity including planning for exercise, creative ideas for activity, safety, and how to get started. It is available from the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists.
My Exercise Plan
This handout explains why exercise is important, gives activity ideas, and includes simple chair exercises with illustrations. It is available from Scripps.
Desk Moves
This handout highlights several desk exercises with simple, step-by step illustrated instructions. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Prevention of Long Term Complications
What Are Diabetes Complications?
This handout includes brief descriptions of long-term complications of diabetes and includes illustrations. It is available from the National Diabetes Education Initiative.
Diabetes Can Affect the Entire Body
This handout describes the end organ complications of diabetes with measures to reduce the risk. It is available from Scripps.
Diabetes and Oral Health
This handout can help your patients with diabetes properly maintain oral health and prevent gum disease. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Foot Care Instructions
This handout includes large pictures and simple text recommending actions to improve foot care. It is available from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sex and Diabetes
Diabetes can affect your patient's enjoyment of sex, but there are ways to maintain a fulfilling sex life. This website from the American Diabetes Association provides information on common complications and ways to maintain a healthy sex life. This resource from the American Diabetes Association.
Problem Solving
Problem Solving
This handout describes the three steps for problem solving with diabetes. It is available in multiple languages from the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists.
Sick Day Guidelines
This handout explains what is appropriate to eat and drink for an ill person with diabetes. It is available in multiple languages from Scripps.
DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) and Ketones
This handout describes the symptoms that may suggest diabetic ketoacidosis and when to seek care. It is available in multiple languages from Scripps.
Healthy Coping
Healthy Coping
This handout describes healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. It is available in multiple languages from the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists.
Stress
This handout describes stress related to diabetes and identifies negative and positive coping strategies. It is available in English and Spanish from the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists.
Diabetes Distress
This handout describes diabetes distress and provides suggestions for healthy coping and when to seek additional care. It is available in English and Spanish from the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists.
Diabetes and Depression
This handout describes the symptoms of depression and information about how it can be treated. It is available in English and Spanish from the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists.
Your Mental Health and Diabetes
This handout briefly describes the different emotions that a patient may experience when managing their diabetes. It is available in multiple languages from the American Diabetes Association.
Quit Smoking
This website summarizes steps to quit smoking. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes and Smoking
This website discusses the how smoking can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and why quitting is one of the best things a person can do for their health. It is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Substance Use and Diabetes
This website discusses the risks of substance use and diabetes and how people can indulge safely. It is available from the American Diabetes Association.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Getting Started With Your Continuous Glucose Monitor
This handout provides step-by-step, device-specific continuous glucose monitor (CGM) instructions. CGM models included: Freestyle Libre 2, Libre 2 Reader, and Libre 3; Dexcom G6, G6 Receiver, and G7. It includes large font and easy-to-see pictures for those with impaired vision. It is written for low literacy patients and is available in English and Spanish.
Finding Reliable Information
A Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation
This toolkit provides a set of tools to understand, identify, and stop health-related misinformation. It is available from the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General.
Health Misinformation Checklist
This checklist can be used to vet the reliability of health-related content. It is available from the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General.