Self-care difficulties of adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic disease that is increasingly prevalent in adolescence. Intervention in selfcare is essential for disease management. Objectives: To identify the self-care difficulties of adolescents with T1D. Analyze the association between the self-care difficulties of adolescents with T1D and age and gender. Methodology: Descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. The sample was composed of 51 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years being followed-up in district hospitals of the center region of Portugal. We developed a questionnaire on the adolescents’ difficulties based on a model of self-care roles, consisting of 18 items distributed by 4 dimensions: Health maintenance; Disease management; Diagnosis, treatment and Medication in T1D; and participation in health services. Results: Most adolescents (96.1%) found it easy to manage self-care, 29.4% of them found it difficult to adjust insulin to blood glucose levels, and 17.6% of them found it difficult to recognize the importance of glycated hemoglobin. Conclusion: Adolescents showed significant levels of difficulty in insulin adjustment and interpretation of glycated hemoglobin.