As biotechnological devices become a more expected part of everyday diabetes management, consideration of psychosocial factors in the use of these devices is of growing importance. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is the newest technology. However, little is known about how and which patients can most effectively use CGM devices. CGM is a real-time sensor through which interstitial glucose values—not blood glucose values—are provided and alarms signal high or low glucose levels, and arrows show the direction of change in glucose level. CGM offers not only individual glucose readings every 1–5 minutes, but also tracings of glucose patterns throughout a period of days. Therefore, CGM offers a great deal of information that patients can learn to use in their diabetes self-care. However, because of cost, training time, and possible medical contraindications, health care professionals need to ascertain which patients can most effectively use CGM by further understanding the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics of patients who want to use this technology. Through this understanding, providers will be able to assess and assist patients in managing expectations of and psychosocial barriers to effective CGM use.

Psychosocial research on CGM is limited and has almost exclusively focused on children and adolescents. Results have indicated neither adverse nor beneficial psychological effects with regard to anxiety, quality of life, or treatment adherence,¹ improvement in mean A1C, and high satisfaction with CGM.² In an attempt to answer the question, “Is CGM for everyone?” this article presents clinically informed observations of psychosocial factors and case studies.

Helping patients set realistic expectations for CGM use is necessary before they can make an informed decision about CGM or successfully use it. Patients must first understand that CGM will not cure their diabetes, nor will it diminish needed diabetes self-care activities. In research on another biotechnological device, the …