STRATEGIES TO EDUCATE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS ON INSULIN THERAPY: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify evidence available in the literature on educational strategies used in the teaching of insulin therapy to children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Method: systematic review undertaken in five databases, using the descriptors Insulin/therapeutic use, Patient education as topic, Diabetes mellitus type 1, Child, Infant, Adolescent and keywords, without any time limit. Primary studies on insulin therapy teaching were included, while research on insulin pumps was excluded. Results: 243 studies were identified, 13 of which were included. The results present educational strategies focused on children, adolescents and young people of up to 24 years of age, applied individually or in groups; by telephone contact or text messages by mobile phone; dramatization and educational camps; by a single professional or a multidisciplinary team. The strategies described in the analyzed studies addressed the adjustment of insulin dosages in everyday situations and education for insulin management, associated with the nutritional strategy of carbohydrate counting, diabetes education with a specific module on insulin therapy and intensive insulin use. The studies analyzed the effect of the educational intervention on several clinical and behavioral outcomes, such as glycated hemoglobin and self-efficacy. Conclusion: this review could not identify a single educational strategy able to improve metabolic and psychosocial outcomes. In most cases, nurses are the professionals responsible for the development of educational strategies focused on insulin therapy in children and adolescents with diabetes, regardless of the context in which they will be deployed. This confirms their role as educators.