STEP Intervention Social Suppout to Empower Parents

Univ Of Massachusetts Med Sch Worcester, Worcester MA

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This mixed method prospective randomized controlled study will examine the effects of a post diagnosis intervention using parent mentors as social support for parents of young children (1 month-11 years old) newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The primary aim is to: Compare concern, worry and stress, feelings of confidence, appraisal of impact of chronic illness on family, and perceptions of social support among mothers and fathers receiving the intervention (home visits and/or phone call support) in addition to traditional health care team support, to those sent home with only traditional health care team support at baseline, 6 and 12 months after diagnosis. The secondary aim is to: Describe the experiences of both the parents receiving the intervention, and the parent mentors. A purposively recruited group of experienced mothers of young children with diabetes will receive training by the investigator to provide informational, affirmational, and emotional support using a modified version of Ireys' parent support curriculum. The parent mentors will be assigned to provide one-to-one visits and phone call support over a period of 12 months for those families of young children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes who randomize to the intervention group. A sample of 60 mothers and 40 fathers from the diabetes clinics will be recruited to participate in the study and randomized to either the intervention or control group. The parent mentors will carefully document the father's participation in the intervention. Group differences will be tested, using Ireys' Social Support model to look at psychosocial variables such as parent concerns and stress with diabetes (Banion Diabetes Management Concern Questionnaire), general worry and stress (Parent Worry Scale), parental perceptions of confidence in managing the child's chronic condition (Parent Confidence Scale), parents' perception of the child's illness in the family (Impact on Family Scale), and parental perceptions of emotional, affirmational, and informational support (Social Support Inventory). Open-ended interviews of both the mothers and fathers who received the intervention, and the parent mentors who provided the intervention, will be completed to describe their experiences. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]