Abstract

FLORA, Marília Costa  and  GAMEIRO, Manuel Gonçalves Henriques. Self-care difficulties of adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2016, vol.serIV, n.11, pp.31-40. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIV16062.

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic disease that is increasingly prevalent in adolescence. Intervention in self-care is essential for disease management. Objectives: To identify the self-care difficulties of adolescents with T1D. Analyze the association between the self-care difficulties of adolescents with T1D and age and gender. Methodology: Descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. The sample was composed of 51 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years being followed-up in district hospitals of the center region of Portugal. We developed a questionnaire on the adolescents' difficulties based on a model of self-care roles, consisting of 18 items distributed by 4 dimensions: Health maintenance; Disease management; Diagnosis, treatment and Medication in T1D; and participation in health services. Results: Most adolescents (96.1%) found it easy to manage self-care, 29.4% of them found it difficult to adjust insulin to blood glucose levels, and 17.6% of them found it difficult to recognize the importance of glycated hemoglobin. Conclusion: Adolescents showed significant levels of difficulty in insulin adjustment and interpretation of glycated hemoglobin.

Keywords : teenager; type 1 diabetes; self-care; nursing.

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