Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Education in diabetes is a fundamental component of self-management. Health care systems that have structured education from diagnosis have demonstrated improving trends in HbA1c. Within Wales, education for Children and Young People (CYP) was delivered informally and this deficiency was highlighted in the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit. While structured education is being delivered in some parts of the UK, there is no overarching programme covering the entire range of CYPs with diabetes, from diagnosis to transition to adulthood.

Objectives: Following basic training in the principles of structured education, a working group consisting of Health Care Professionals (HCPs) and parent representatives was set up in 2013 with a view to develop a tailored programme. The philosophy of the programme is to “Empower the CYP and family to manage diabetes from diagnosis right through and including transition to adult services”.

Methods: Work commenced with existing education materials that were being used within Wales. We developed shared interactive and age appropriate resources that are aligned to the education key stages for the UK (1,2, 3+4). The resources include an interactive story board, age based workbooks and activites. There is a detailed curriculum for the educators which is accompanied by an education/assessment record - this will enable standarisation of diabetes education across Wales. The programme is accompanied by a quality assurance process with formal evaluation.

The first module “Diabetes at Diagnosis” for age 11years +, piloted in September 2015 helped to refine these resources.

Results: Feedback from educators and users has been positive.

Conclusion: The first phase of the programme was launched in March 2016 after training of HCPs within Wales. The other key stages (with a Welsh translation) will follow and additional modules such as sport, pumps, annual updates, transition to secondary school and adulthood are planned.

We would like to take the opportunity to share our journey with you.