Information needs on type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and its management in children and adolescents: a qualitative study

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study is to explore the information needs related to insulin therapy in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) from the children’s perspectives as well as their caregivers.Design Qualitative study; semistructured interviews. To identify emerging themes relating to information needs, open coding and thematic analysis were employed.Setting Participants were recruited from a tertiary care children’s hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and a specialist hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Participants Thirty one children with a mean age of 11.5 years (SD=1.9) and their caregivers were interviewed. Seventeen participants were from Malaysia and 14 were from Saudi Arabia.Results Four themes of information emerged from the interviews, including information related to (1) hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, (2) insulin therapy, (3) injection technique and (4) other information needs pertaining to continuous glucose monitoring, access to peer groups and future advances in insulin therapy.Conclusion This study provided valuable insights into the information needs related to T1DM and insulin therapy among children and adolescents with T1DM that should be considered by stakeholders in the development of age-appropriate education materials. Such materials will assist children and adolescents to better manage their life-long T1DM condition from adolescence until adulthood.