Interviews of 21 adolescents reveal a desire for structured education programme specifically tailored to their needs
- School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, USA
- Correspondence to Arlene Smaldone
School of Nursing, Columbia University, 617 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA; ams130{at}columbia.edu
Implications for practice and research
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Nurses need to be mindful of adolescent needs and viewpoints in planning diabetes education programmes for this population.
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Further research is needed to determine what education strategies are most effective with this population and provide the balance between promoting adolescent independence while maintaining parental involvement at this critical time.
Context
Adolescence is a time when youth with type 1 diabetes are expected to assume greater responsibility for self-management of their chronic illness, yet, they may have insufficient knowledge, skills and maturity to do this. Their beliefs and need for structured diabetes education (SDE) are important …
