Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

CHANGES ACROSS THE LIFESPAN| 4-11

Essential to our understanding of how to effectively educate and manage this age group is recognizing the importance of family and community in the nurturing of the child with diabetes (7,36). In the early childhood years, the family-centered approach is the most significant factor to incorporate in any intervention (4,7,13,36). Studies have demonstrated that addressing the family’s psychosocial barriers and using the empowering approach for the development of coping behaviours in the family results in better metabolic control and more successful diabetes management (7,9,36,37).

Figure 4. Components of effective intervention strategies for children and adolescents with diabetes

Involves goal setting

Parental/family involvement

Integrated into routine care

Promoting self-efficacy

Empowerment principles

Problem solving

Infants, toddlers and preschoolers When diagnosing diabetes in the child, the same glycemic values are used but presentation of hyperglycemia with metabolic decompensation requires only one abnormal reading. If the child presents with diabetic ketoacidosis, the protocol for treatment is different from adults primarily due to the need to prevent the development of cerebral edema. Please refer to the 2018 Guidelines for the pediatric protocols for DKA.