Parenting & Control Among Young Children with T1 Diabetes

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The incidence of type 1 (T1) diabetes in young children < age 6 is on the rise and the management demands of these youngsters are unique due to their physiological and developmental characteristics. Parents are often solely responsible for their young child's diabetes management, and the stress and burden on parents may undermine adherence, control, and quality of life. By combining psychosocial counseling with standard diabetes management education, we are seeking to improve these outcomes. The proposed study is a randomized controlled trial evaluating the relative efficacy of a newly-developed parenting intervention on parenting behavior and diabetes control. Parents of children ages 1-6 years-old with T1 diabetes will be randomly allocated to either the intervention or comparison condition. In the intervention condition, parents will participate in 5 bi-weekly sessions addressing social, educational, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of parenting and diabetes management. In the comparison condition, parents will also participate in 5 bi-weekly sessions addressing diabetes education. In both conditions, session content will be delivered via the telephone. Participants will be assessed at baseline and again 3-, 6-, and 12- months post-intervention. Primary outcome measures include glycemic variability, experience of hypoglycemia, child mealtime behaviors, and parent and child quality of life; metabolic control will also be assessed. It is anticipated that providing both education and counseling to parents of young children with T1 diabetes will lead to more improved outcomes for parents and children alike. Public Health Relevance: The incidence of type 1 (T1) diabetes in young children < age 6 is on the rise and the management demands of these youngsters are unique due to their physiological and developmental characteristics. Parents are often solely responsible for their young child's diabetes management, and the stress and burden on parents may undermine adherence, control, and quality of life. By combining psychosocial counseling with standard diabetes management education, we are seeking to improve these outcomes.