Educational programme for diabetic teens

An educational programme called the 'kids in control of food' (KICk OFF) can improve the quality of life for children and teens with type I diabetes mellitus. Management of diabetes mellitus during adolescence is challenging and affects the social and emotional well-being of the child. Control of blood sugar levels and the quality of life typically declines during this period. Researchers from United Kingdom studied 48 diabetic children between the age of 11 and 16 years to evaluate the affects of the KICk OFF training course. The participants attended one of six 5-day outpatient courses where they were taught the skills of carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment. The course quality, programme's acceptability by families and impact on outcome measures, including sugar control and body weight were studied. The children and their parents were interviewed before and after the course. It was found that both children and parents reported significant improvements in the quality of life and satisfaction with treatment after the course. Children reported improved self-efficacy and both children and parents reported greater child responsibility for a range of management tasks. However, there were no changes in the body mass index, sugar control or episodes of hypoglycaemia. The researchers concluded that the KICk OFF programme was well-received by the children and their parents and was found to be associated with an improved quality of life. Although the programme did not seem to improve sugar or body weight, further studies with more patients are needed to examine this in greater detail.

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