Adolescents with diabetes: support from healthcare teams and families

Abstract

Adolescents with diabetes must learn to manage their own health plans. Support from family is typically associated with positive self-management outcomes, yet less is known about how healthcare teams can facilitate positive self-management. This study aims to investigate the associations between family and healthcare team support and adolescent emotional, behavioral and physical diabetes management. A sample of 58 adolescents with type 1 diabetes completed self-report measures of their diabetes self-care management and their emotional distress or burden in relation to their diabetes. Adolescents' diabetes clinic attendance and glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c) levels were also secured. Perceived positive support from the healthcare team or family appeared to have little or negative effect on diabetes management. However, the study found that greater healthcare non-support was related to poorer self-care and poorer self-management of diabetes control (less clinic attendance, poorer dietary control, less glucose testing, and higher HBA1c levels), and greater feelings of being distressed or burdened by diabetes. These findings suggest that healthcare teams supporting adolescents should focus more on communicating and building relationships with adolescents in order to reduce perceived negative feelings of healthcare teams' support.