School Challenges for Children With Type 1 Diabetes
School Challenges for Children With Type 1 Diabetes
Children with type 1 diabetes need to monitor their blood glucose and food intake, administer insulin, and participate in physical activity during school hours. School concerns for this group include school personnel, the medical directive plan, classmates, school lunches, and physical education classes. Nurse practitioners should take an active role in advocating for improved T1DM management in schools by talking with patients and their parents about experiences in school, identifying challenges and discussing possible solutions for improving diabetes management during school hours, and accessing online resources to assist patients, parents, and school personnel.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is 1 of the most common chronic childhood diseases in the United States, currently affecting about 215,000 people under the age of 20 or approximately 1 in every 400 children. Treatment of T1DM requires checking blood glucose levels multiple times a day, sometimes during the night, and administering insulin before eating carbohydrates, either through daily insulin injections or a continuous insulin infusion pump.
One challenge faced by families raising children with T1DM is management of diabetes in the school setting. Time spent in school represents a major portion of a child's waking hours, and during this period it is necessary to monitor blood glucose and food intake, administer insulin, and participate in physical activity. Indeed, in countries such as the US where children spend long hours at school, concerns about diabetes care there can be a major stressor for parents of children and adolescents with T1DM. Nurse practitioners (NPs) caring for children and adolescents with T1DM have a responsibility to safeguard them within the school setting.
The purpose of this study was to identify school challenges faced by children and adolescents with T1DM and identify opportunities for NPs to provide leadership and direction to children, adolescents, parents, schools, and communities related to T1DM care and management.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Children with type 1 diabetes need to monitor their blood glucose and food intake, administer insulin, and participate in physical activity during school hours. School concerns for this group include school personnel, the medical directive plan, classmates, school lunches, and physical education classes. Nurse practitioners should take an active role in advocating for improved T1DM management in schools by talking with patients and their parents about experiences in school, identifying challenges and discussing possible solutions for improving diabetes management during school hours, and accessing online resources to assist patients, parents, and school personnel.
Introduction
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is 1 of the most common chronic childhood diseases in the United States, currently affecting about 215,000 people under the age of 20 or approximately 1 in every 400 children. Treatment of T1DM requires checking blood glucose levels multiple times a day, sometimes during the night, and administering insulin before eating carbohydrates, either through daily insulin injections or a continuous insulin infusion pump.
One challenge faced by families raising children with T1DM is management of diabetes in the school setting. Time spent in school represents a major portion of a child's waking hours, and during this period it is necessary to monitor blood glucose and food intake, administer insulin, and participate in physical activity. Indeed, in countries such as the US where children spend long hours at school, concerns about diabetes care there can be a major stressor for parents of children and adolescents with T1DM. Nurse practitioners (NPs) caring for children and adolescents with T1DM have a responsibility to safeguard them within the school setting.
The purpose of this study was to identify school challenges faced by children and adolescents with T1DM and identify opportunities for NPs to provide leadership and direction to children, adolescents, parents, schools, and communities related to T1DM care and management.
Source...