Cathy Feste:
Changing the Face of Diabetes
Three decades before “integrative medicine”, “self-care”, “consumer health advocacy” and “body-mind-spirit” became part of the mainstream vocabulary they are today, Cathy Feste began her own revolution to change the way people face diabetes. With a focus on the person rather than the disease, she promoted LIFE SKILLS along with diabetes management skills.
As the Education Director of the Twin Cities Diabetes Association (1974-1976) she asked the question that has guided her career for thirty years. “Why do people do well with diabetes?” Focusing on the personal attributes associated with a psychosocial/spiritual approach, she developed an empowerment program: EMPOWERMENT: A Personal Path to Responsible Self-care (1991). Evaluated at the University of Michigan, the program had clinically significant outcomes in diabetes (A1c) along with improved attitudes and increased self-efficacy. Nineteen trained diabetes educators taught the program to 2500 diabetes educators throughout the US.
She was the 1990 MOW Fellow at the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia and a presenter at the 1988 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in Sydney. Her assigned topic was: In the Eyes of the Beholder, sharing insights from her own diabetes, diagnosed in 1957. In 1994 she presented at the World Health Organization and University of Geneva’s program: Patient Education 2000. She keynoted at the 2003 IDF in Paris. Her assigned topic was: “Empowerment: With or Without the Healthcare Provider”.
Publications include the books: The Physician Within, (1987, 2nd ed: 1993), 365 Daily Meditations for people with diabetes, (1999, 2004), The Power to be Well, (2006),and Tips & Tales from 50 Years with Diabetes, (2007).She co-authored 101 Tips for Coping with Diabetes and promoted it for the American Diabetes Association on the CBS Early Show. Journal articles, since 1992, have appeared in DIABETES CARE, THE DIABETES EDUCATOR, DIABETES SPECTRUM and PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING.
Seeking to reach the people directly affected by diabetes Cathy developed a derivative of her empowerment program: TAKE 5® (1996). Using The Physician Within in both book and video formats she trained parish nurses to facilitate the empowerment program for their constituents. She worked with worksite health promotion departments at several major corporations and a large school district, where “graduates” of the TAKE 5 program served as peer facilitators for future groups – expanded beyond diabetes to include any chronic disease. Outcomes continued to be improved attitudes and increased self-efficacy.
Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cathy developed a storytelling tool: Stories that Reach, Teach and Heal for people and communities with diabetes. Especially targeted at the communities most affected by diabetes, African American, Native American, Latino’s and Asian, the tool is nearly ready for distribution (2007).