Elizabeth Cox, MD, PhD, director of the Program of Research on Outcomes for Kids (PROKids), has released a toolkit to support identification of type 1 diabetes self-management barriers for children and adolescents. The toolkit, Problem Recognition in Illness Self-Management (PRISM), includes two brief, validated surveys – one for 13-17 year-old adolescents and one for parents of youth ages 8-17 years. The PRISM surveys identify up to six barriers to self-management that youth and families may be experiencing.
The majority of youth with type 1 diabetes struggle to manage their condition, which can lead to life-threatening complications. There are multiple strategies to support successful diabetes self-management, so understanding the specific challenges faced by a youth and their family enable tailoring of the resources offered to individual needs. This type of tailored help shows promise in improving glycemic control and quality of life.
“Children with type 1 diabetes and their families face many challenges to controlling diabetes and maintaining good quality of life,” Dr. Cox explained. “Our preliminary work suggests taking good care of diabetes can be easier when healthcare providers offer resources tailored to each family’s specific needs.”
The PRISM toolkit includes the two surveys, a manual for administration and scoring, and a workbook for automatic scoring of PRISM. It is available as a free download on the HIPxChange website.