Insulin Injection and Finger Sticking Fear in People with Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus requires complex care and treatment where patients should take the responsibility of their own health: they should follow dietary recommendations, exercise, inject insulin regularly and measure blood glucose level as recommended. However, it seems very hard for patients to change their lifestyle and to adhere to treatment plans. Studies have shown that insulin injection and finger sticking fear might negatively affect the start of a treatment, to continue treatment and to track blood glucose level which result in poor metabolic control and diabetes complications. The lack of a global definition and healthcare professional ignorance cause difficulties in increasing awareness and management of this problem. At this point, diabetes nurses have an important role to identify and manage insulin injection and finger sticking fear, which significantly affects diabetes treatment. First, diabetes nurses should look for the cause of this phobia and determine the fear level. Then, they should give education to the patient regarding fear management and work in collaboration with other health care professionals for this problem. This review aims to determine insulin injection and finger sticking fear in diabetic people, to examine its results and its management strategies.