In-Hospital Survival Skills Training for Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

Implications for care include age-appropriate information in a variety of formats, minimizing the invasive nature of the treatment, providing opportunities for demonstration/return demonstration of skills, providing positive support and reassurance, and delivering concentrated instruction related to carbohydrate counting.

Understanding Effective Delivery of Patient and Family Education in Pediatric Oncology: A Systematic Review From the Children’s Oncology Group

“…Newly diagnosed children reported the most important information about their cancer diagnosis was knowing what was going to happen to them and understanding the etiology and prognosis (Freeman, O'Dell, & Meola, 2003). This is similar to information requested by children newly diagnosed with diabetes, who want information to understand their disease and treatment (Alderson, Sutcliffe, & Curtis, 2007;Schmidt, Bernaix, Chiappetta, Carroll, & Beland, 2012). Adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer ranked dealing with procedures as the most important topic followed by relationships with friends and getting back to school as the second and third important topics (Decker, Phillips, & Haase, 2004).…”

“…However, a study of 20 hemophilia patients found that developmental level, not age, should be factored into the education (Spitzer, 1992). Studies focused on pediatric patients with epilepsy (McNelis et al, 2007; Ridsdale et al, 1999) and diabetes (Schmidt et al, 2012) identified the following factors that influenced the children’s ability to comprehend information: using words they could understand, receiving noncontradictory information, and feeling that HCPs had time to answer questions.…”

“…Emotional reactions and previous negative experiences with cancer made it difficult for parents to hear and comprehend information. Emotional reactions also influenced the ability to absorb information among parents of children with diabetes (Schmidt et al, 2012; Sullivan-Bolyai, Knafl, Deatrick, & Grey, 2003) or hemophilia (Furmedge, Lima, Monagle, Barnes, & Newall, 2013) and parents of premature infants (Sneath, 2009). Language barriers affected parents’ ability to comprehend information.…”

“…Parents of children with a new tracheostomy (Tearl & Hertzog, 2007) or newly diagnosed with diabetes (Sullivan-Bolyai et al, 2012) who practiced skills on a manikin or simulator demonstrated more knowledge, problem-solving skills, and self-efficacy when compared to parents without the experiential opportunity. Survival skill training increased the comfort level of parents of newly diagnosed diabetic children (Schmidt et al, 2012). Parents who had the opportunity to care for their newborn or premature infant (Costello & Chapman, 1998) or for their infant with a congenital heart defect (Yang, Chen, Mao, Gau, & Wang, 2004) prior to discharge had more knowledge and confidence in caring for their baby after discharge.…”