Adherence to diabetes management among school-aged children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes in Jordan.

AIMS: To measure the level of adherence to diabetes management among children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes, and to explore socio-demographic factors associated with better diabetes management using both child and parent proxy reports.

BACKGROUND

Worldwide, type 1 diabetes mellitus is one of the most widespread chronic diseases in children and adults. In Jordan, it is estimated that 10,000 children and adolescents are living with this disease. Management of diabetes is challenging for both children and their parents.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed using a convenience sample of 109 children and adolescents and 100 parents attending a major diabetes center in Amman.

RESULTS

The mean scores of Diabetes Management Questionnaire (DMQ) for children/adolescents was low compared to other studies. There was moderate to good agreement between children/adolescents and their parents' report of adherence to diabetes questionnaire (Inter Class Correlation = 0.78). The study revealed that children/adolescents with poor glycemic control reported lower adherence to diabetes management (p < 0.05). Duration of diabetes and family income associated negatively with adherence to diabetes management scores.

CONCLUSION

Although the participants achieved an acceptable degree of adherence, collaboration between healthcare services and education sectors is needed to support those children to diabetes self-management at school. Demographic and management-related variables should be considered when designing health education.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The government of Jordan, along with nurses and other healthcare providers, can utilize the current findings to develop standardized and supportive strategies to support children/adolescents and their caregivers.