Psychological and self care outcomes for children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers attending diabetes camp: A mixed methods study.

Abstract

Aim: Diabetes camps for children and adolescents living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) offer an important opportunity to foster self-efficacy and 'common humanity', a sense that they are not alone in their challenges. The current study primarily aimed to assess whether psychological wellbeing, diabetes self care behaviours and HbA1c improved amongst campers and their caregivers, and whether these would be sustained at 3- and 6-months.

Methods: Children and adolescents aged 7-13 years who attended the 2023 diabetes camp in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand and one of their caregivers were invited to participate. Campers and caregivers were assessed at camp enrolment and then at 1-week, 3-months and 6-months post-camp. Guided by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, optional qualitative interviews were also used to explore campers' experiences of camp.

Results: Of the 31 children and adolescents who attended the 2023 camp, 27 (87%) participated in the study with a caregiver. Campers showed reduced feelings of isolation (p = 0.036) and overidentification (p = 0.036) 6 months. Caregivers demonstrated overall improvements in self-efficacy (p = 0.034), caregiver distress and burden (p = 0.006) and caregiver quality of life (p = 0.039). Qualitative findings confirmed high acceptability, with participants reporting positive camp experiences.

Conclusions: Diabetes camps can improve caregivers' self-efficacy, diabetes distress and quality of life, and reduce feelings of isolation and overidentification among campers. Future work is needed to promote cultural inclusivity within camps and improve their accessibility, to be able to optimise the wellbeing of all children and adolescents living with T1D and their families.