The Challenges of Diabetes Education for Young Diabetes Patients: A 1:1 Mentoring Program Teaching Method

Diabetes is a chronic disease resulting from an absolute or relative shortage of insulin, and it is a disease that requires continuous management throughout the lifetime. Most past diabetes education programs used educational methods for training; however, only a small number of studies on individual education methods were conducted for diabetic patients. Along with individualized educational methods, various instructional methods for knowledge delivery and self-control have been attempted, and one of these is a one-on-one mentoring process. Through such a program, children can acquire knowledge and management of diabetes, and systematic management can be maintained through mentoring and use of diabetic resources. Also, shared cultural and life experiences between the mentor and the mentee can help the children overcome the identity crisis of adolescence to produce a suitable emotional experience. These positive effects can reduce the socio-economic costs associated with diabetes through improved management of problems that can arise in diabetics.