School-Based Diabetes Care: A National Survey of U.S. Pediatric Diabetes Providers

Abstract

Objectives. To understand the practices, attitudes, and beliefs of type 1 diabetes (T1D) providers towards school-based diabetes care (SBDC), including counseling families and communicating with schools, and explore the barriers and facilitators which affect their support of SBDC. Research Design and Methods. We conducted a national survey of pediatric T1D providers about their perceived support of SBDC, including family counseling and school communication. We used descriptive statistics to analyze results and explored differences by practice size (<500, 500–999, and ≥1000 patients) and environment (academic vs nonacademic). Results. A total of 149 providers completed the survey. Nearly, all (95%) indicated SBDC was very important. Though most (63%) reported counseling families about SBDC multiple times per year, few (19%) spoke with school staff routinely, reporting that was a shared responsibility among different providers. Close to 90% agreed school feedback on T1D management plans would be helpful, yet only 31% routinely requested this input. Moderate to extremely significant barriers to SBDC communication included internal factors, such as staff resources (67%) and time (82%), and external factors, such as school nurse education needs (62%) and differing school district policies (70%). Individuals from large or academic practices reported more barriers in their knowledge of SBDC, including federal/state laws. Desired facilitators for SBDC included a designated school liaison (84%), electronic transmission for school forms (90%), and accessible school staff education (95%). Conclusions. Though providers universally agree that SBDC is important, there are multilevel internal (practice) and external (policy) barriers to facilitating a bidirectional relationship between schools and health teams.