Strategies for Diabetic Adolescents

Adolescence, as defined by the World Health Organization, ranges from age 10 to 19.

During these fragile years peer pressure, bullies, and the desire to fit it in surround this specific

population. This makes it even harder when an adolescent is living with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Living with diabetes means checking blood sugars regularly, eating according to a strict diet, and

injecting insulin when needed. The purpose of this paper is to explore strategies that nurses can

utilize to facilitate self-care management of type 1 diabetes among adolescent children such as:

patient, parent, and educator education, technology, support groups, and school nurses.

The adolescent phase of life is highly developmental. In the early stages it is more likely

that a child with adhere to parent wishes (Keough, Sullivan-Bolyai, Crawford, Schilling, &

Dixon, 2011). Throughout adolescents, children are given more responsibility and independence

in hopes that they are to be prepared for life on their own (Keough et al., 2011). When a child is

living with diabetes this developmental period becomes more difficult (Keough et al., 2011). If

diabetic care interferes with the child’s extracurricular time, time with friends, or other activities

deemed important the adolescent is much less likely to adhere (Keough et al., 2011). It is

important, as nurses, to appeal to this demographic while teaching and to implement strategies

that will increase diabetic self-care (Keough et al., 2011). For example, a new technology called

the Glucophone was invented to help increase adherence for diabetic self-care in adolescence

(Carroll, DiMeglio, Stein, & Marrero, 2010). It was a phone that the chi...

... middle of paper ...

...atif, H., & Moreland, E. (2011). Parents’ experiences supporting

self-management of middle adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Pediatric Nursing,

37(6), 304-310.

Keough, L., Sullivan-Bolyai, S., Crawford, S., Schilling, L., & Dixon, J. (2011). Self-

management of type 1 diabetes across adolescence. The diabetes educator, 37(4), 486-

500.

Nabors, L., Troillett, A., Nash, T., & Masiulis, B. (2005). School nurse perceptions of barriers

and supports for children with diabetes. Journal of school health, 75(4), 119-124.

Rasmussen, B., Ward, G., Jenkins, A., King, S. J., & Dunning, T. (2011). Young adults’

management of type 1 diabetes during life transitions. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20,

1981-1992.

World Health Organization. Adolescent health. Retrieved from

http://www.who.int/topics/adolescent_health/en/