Sigley Rita, Boggiss Anna L, Albert Benjamin, Han Dug Yeo, Jefferies Craig
Starship Children's Health, Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai, Auckland, New Zealand.
Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Diabet Med. 2025 Jun;42(6):e70038. doi: 10.1111/dme.70038. Epub 2025 Apr 2.
Diabetes camps for children and adolescents living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) offer an important opportunity to foster self-efficacy and 'common humanity', a sense that they are not alone in their challenges. The current study primarily aimed to assess whether psychological wellbeing, diabetes self care behaviours and HbA1c improved amongst campers and their caregivers, and whether these would be sustained at 3- and 6-months.
Children and adolescents aged 7-13 years who attended the 2023 diabetes camp in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand and one of their caregivers were invited to participate. Campers and caregivers were assessed at camp enrolment and then at 1-week, 3-months and 6-months post-camp. Guided by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, optional qualitative interviews were also used to explore campers' experiences of camp.
Of the 31 children and adolescents who attended the 2023 camp, 27 (87%) participated in the study with a caregiver. Campers showed reduced feelings of isolation (p = 0.036) and overidentification (p = 0.036) 6 months. Caregivers demonstrated overall improvements in self-efficacy (p = 0.034), caregiver distress and burden (p = 0.006) and caregiver quality of life (p = 0.039). Qualitative findings confirmed high acceptability, with participants reporting positive camp experiences.
Diabetes camps can improve caregivers' self-efficacy, diabetes distress and quality of life, and reduce feelings of isolation and overidentification among campers. Future work is needed to promote cultural inclusivity within camps and improve their accessibility, to be able to optimise the wellbeing of all children and adolescents living with T1D and their families.
为1型糖尿病（T1D）儿童和青少年举办的糖尿病营提供了一个重要契机，以培养自我效能感和“共同人性”，即让他们意识到在面对挑战时并非孤身一人。本研究主要旨在评估营员及其照顾者的心理健康、糖尿病自我护理行为和糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）是否得到改善，以及这些改善在3个月和6个月时能否持续。
邀请了年龄在7至13岁、参加了2023年新西兰奥克兰糖尿病营的儿童和青少年及其一名照顾者参与研究。在营员入营时以及营后1周、3个月和6个月对营员和照顾者进行评估。在可接受性理论框架的指导下，还采用了可选的定性访谈来探究营员对营地的体验。
在参加2023年营地活动的31名儿童和青少年中，27名（87%）与一名照顾者一起参与了研究。6个月时，营员的孤独感（p = 0.036）和过度认同（p = 0.036）有所降低。照顾者在自我效能感（p = 0.034）、照顾者困扰和负担（p = 0.006）以及照顾者生活质量（p = 0.039）方面总体有所改善。定性研究结果证实了该营地具有较高的可接受性，参与者报告了积极的营地体验。
糖尿病营可以提高照顾者的自我效能感、糖尿病困扰和生活质量，并减少营员的孤独感和过度认同。未来需要开展工作，以促进营地内的文化包容性并提高其可及性，从而能够优化所有T1D儿童和青少年及其家庭的福祉。
