Self-Management in Diabetic Children

The level of self-management of 157 type I (juvenile-onset, insulin-dependent) children with diabetes was assessed using a self-management assessment tool developed by the investigator and validated by a panel of diabetes experts. Subjects ranged from 7 to 16 yr and attended the 1981 session of Camp Hertko Hollow, a camp for children with diabetes near Boone, Iowa. The extent of knowledge about diabetes was determined for each subject by the knowledge questionnaire developed and validated by the Diabetes Education Program in Nashville, Tennessee. This knowledge score was then correlated with the self-management score to determine the relationship between the two variables. The t test and regression analysis showed a significant association (P ≤ 0.05) between knowledge and self-management and indicates that children with diabetes are more likely to achieve effective self-management when an adequate knowledge base of the disease also exists.