Abstract
Adolescents with diabetes must learn to manage their own health plans. Support from family is typically associated with positive self-management outcomes, yet less is known about how healthcare teams can facilitate positive self-management. This study aims to investigate the associations between family and healthcare team support and adolescent emotional, behavioral and physical diabetes management.
Method: A sample of 58 adolescents with type 1 diabetes completed self-report measures of their diabetes self-care management and their emotional distress or burden in relation to their diabetes. Adolescents’ diabetes clinic attendance and glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c) levels were also secured.
Results: Perceived positive support from the healthcare team or family appeared to have little or negative effect on diabetes management. However, the study found that greater healthcare non-support was related to poorer self-care and poorer self-management of diabetes control (less clinic attendance, poorer dietary control, less glucose testing, and higher HBA1c levels), and greater feelings of being distressed or burdened by diabetes.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that healthcare teams supporting adolescents should focus more on communicating and building relationships with adolescents in order to reduce perceived negative feelings of healthcare teams’ support.
©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
