Diabetes camp still matters: Relationships with diabetes‐specific distress, strengths, and self‐care skills

Abstract

Objective Prior studies suggest diabetes camps improve psychosocial well‐being in youth with type 1 diabetes but these studies suffer from variable levels of rigor. The present study assessed associations between camp participation and diabetes distress, perceived independence in diabetes self‐care, and diabetes strengths in a large sample of children, adolescents, and their parents across 44 camps in the United States. Analyses compared viewpoints of study participants, identified moderators of change, and assessed perceived benefits of camp participation. Methods There were 2488 youth and 2563 parents consented for participation in the online survey. Participants reported diabetes distress and perceived independence in youth care, their new experiences and best parts of camp, and changes in behavior following camp. T‐tests, regressions, Cohen's d, and relative frequencies were used as appropriate to assess baseline differences between reporters, pre‐post outcome differences, and moderators of change. Results Parents as compared to youth reported higher pre‐camp distress and lower perception of youth independence in self‐care. Youth experienced a statistically significant decrease in distress and increase in independence in self‐care. Diabetes strengths did not change. Higher A1c prior to camp was associated with higher levels of distress across camp participation. Campers and their parents endorsed a high frequency of positive firsts, bests, and benefits of camp. Conclusions Data from a large sample youth with type 1 diabetes across multiple camps showed broad‐based psychosocial benefits of camp participation.

Challenges to Diabetes Self-Management in Emerging Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

“…59 Going to diabetes camp helped some of the emerging adults in this study with this integration as well and helped to decrease the developmental challenges they faced, which is in line with what others have found. 60,61 As for all emerging adults with T1DM, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]55 the desire to appear normal in front of peers and colleagues vs wanting to be in control of their diabetes was a big challenge for our study participants. It was an especially big issue for the younger subset of study participants, both males and females.…”

“…59 Going to diabetes camp helped some of the emerging adults in this study with this integration as well and helped to decrease the developmental challenges they faced, which is in line with what others have found. 60,61…”

Association between attendance at an American diabetes camp and improvements in glycaemic control and treatment satisfaction

“…In our study, use of the G6's remote monitoring feature was precluded; however, camps that have implemented remote monitoring of CGM data observed significant reductions in hypoglycaemia, particularly overnight. 14,15 Our study contributes to a body of evidence 4,5 indicating that diabetes camps reduce diabetes-related distress, promote shortterm improvements in glycaemic control and enhance quality of life.…”

“…continuous glucose monitoring, diabetes camp, glycaemic control, quality of life of life, [2][3][4] and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels. 5 However, few studies have examined whether glycaemic control at home prior to camp is different than that during camp.…”

Changes in glycated hemoglobin, diabetes knowledge, quality of life, and anxiety in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes attending summer camps: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Although we did not formally meta‐analyze nutritional knowledge, the two studies which provided data both showed significant improvements after camp 13,49 . Likewise, the relatively recent concept of diabetes distress (an emotional state where a person living with diabetes experiences concerns about disease management, support, emotional burden, and access to care 54 ) was noted to be reduced after summer camp in two recent large US reports from the same research group 48,55 …”