Challenges and Considerations for Reducing Diabetes Distress and Fear of Hypoglycemia in Parents of Youth With Type 1 Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Alexandra Monzon; Nicole Kahhan; Arwen Marker; Susana Patton

doi:10.2196/25106

Challenges and Considerations for Reducing Diabetes Distress and Fear of Hypoglycemia in Parents of Youth With Type 1 Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2021 Apr 23;4(2):e25106. doi: 10.2196/25106.

Authors

Alexandra Monzon^#¹, Nicole Kahhan^#², Arwen Marker^#¹, Susana Patton^#²

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States.
² Center for Healthcare Delivery Science, Nemours Children's Health System, Jacksonville, FL, United States.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 33848256
PMCID: PMC8074947
DOI: 10.2196/25106

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes management can be challenging for children and their families. To address psychosocial concerns for parents of youth with type 1 diabetes, we developed two parent-focused interventions to reduce their diabetes distress and fear of hypoglycemia. Our team conducted several of these interventions during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and recognized a need to make timely adjustments to our interventions. In this viewpoint article, we describe our experience conducting these manualized treatment groups during the pandemic, the range of challenges and concerns specific to COVID-19 that parents expressed, and how we adjusted our approach to better address parents' treatment needs.

Keywords: COVID-19; challenge; children; diabetes; diabetes distress; fear of hypoglycemia; parents; telehealth; type 1 diabetes; young adults; youth.

©Alexandra Monzon, Nicole Kahhan, Arwen Marker, Susana Patton. Originally published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting (https://pediatrics.jmir.org), 23.04.2021.