Educational Needs and Early Adaptations of Newly Diagnosed

School-Age Children with Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic childhood disorders in the United States. Little is known about a child’s and family’s knowledge at time of diagnosis and during early management of diabetes. The purpose of this study aimed to explore the educational needs and early adaptations of newly diagnosed school age children with type 1 diabetes in order to plan more effective programs for children and their families. Flanagan’s (1954) critical incident technique was used to describe the educational needs and early adaptations of newly diagnosed school age children with type 1 diabetes. A total of five parents participated in a interview related to initial diagnosis and early management of their child’s diabetes. The ages of the children ranged from five to ten years and time since initial diagnosis of diabetes ranged from eight months to three years and five months.

Six major categories were identified during the interviews including initial symptoms, sources of education at diagnosis, initial challenges after diagnosis, impact of diagnosis on daily life, sources of education after discharge, and perceived educational needs after discharge. The data gathered from the interviews indicated that the that nutrition was the greatest impact of diagnosis on daily life as well as the greatest perceived educational need after discharge. The category receiving the most critical incidents regarding the greatest initial challenge after diagnosis was feeling overwhelmed after receiving the diagnosis.

The results from this study verify current research on early adaptation of the parents after the initial diagnosis. Future implications for nursing practice are that nurses should be aware of the initial challenges which are faced by children and their families with type 1 diabetes and the importance of emotional support and nutritional education.