Date of Award

1-1-2023

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Medical Doctor (MD)

Department

Medicine

First Advisor

Jennifer Sherr

Abstract

Background: Youth newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D), and their families, require intensive education on the management of this chronic condition during this overwhelming period. Traditionally, our center conducts training in person during a hospital admission.

Methods: We studied family perceptions of our current patient education methods in an effort to elucidate strategies to augment education in the post-pandemic environment, where provider time in the room and visitation rules may limit face-to-face encounters.

Results: 25 families completed the survey (distributed to 156 in total, with approximately 21% response rate). The mean age at diagnosis was 9.52 ± 4.29 years old with diabetes duration ranging from 8-57 weeks. Most (n=21) have been followed out to 12 months post- diagnosis with 62% using insulin pumps and 100% using sensors at the 1-year mark. Almost all participants reported being satisfied with new-onset education.

Conclusions: Current strategies utilized to educate families of youth newly diagnosed with T1D are well received by primary caregivers. Yet, issues with understanding how to manage sick days, how to train secondary caregivers, and how to easily share educational content with others remain. To address these issues video content, that can augment training, has been created and we continue to explore the utility of this strategy.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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