Helping Kids Control Diabetes

A research project is underway at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital addressing preadolescent and adolescent diabetes patients. This program aims to provide intensive services to help kids and their families learn to keep diabetes under control. It has been determined that the time between childhood and adolescence is one of the hardest times for maintaining diabetes control, and this difficulty increases when a child is economically disadvantaged. This program targets teenage and preteen pediatric diabetes patients at Mott Hospital who receive state insurance assistance. The project, known as KIDS—Kicking in Diabetes Support, is funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Lisa Opipari-Arrigan, Ph.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics-Ambulatory Care Program, and Carol Foster, M.D., Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology, Research Scientist in the Reproductive Sciences Program, developed this program in a manner which supports the involvement of parents in their adolescents’ lives. According to Opipari-Arrigan, “If parents stay involved and work together with their kids with respect to their diabetes, the child’s diabetic control and care will increase.”

The program involves six sessions over approximately two months. A pediatric psychologist and a nurse provide diabetes education to both parents and children. Parents and children also learn about communicating, problem solving, and setting goals together. After the group sessions, the KIDS team members call families for three months to check in and help them continue to use the skills learned in the groups.

After the families have gone through the program, they are asked to come back to the clinic once every three months. The clinical visits are held to provide medical care, determine the effectiveness of the program, and provide more support for the patients and their families. “A unique aspect of this program is that the parents and children are able to support each other. We are beginning to see how important parent and peer motivation and support is,” says Opipari-Arrigan.