[Educational effects of a short-term diabetes camp for children]

A Diabetes camp provides children with fun and educational experience. Seventeen diabetic school children (12 boys and 5 girls) participated in a short-term diabetes camp from April 16 to 17, 1988. Their ages ranged from 8.5 to 13.2 years with an average of 11.3 +/- 1.5 (mean +/- SD) years. The duration of their diabetes varied from 0.05 to 5.3 years with an average of 2.7 +/- 3.3 years. The camp staff consisted of a pediatric endocrinologist, 3 nurses, 4 dietitians, 3 social workers, 4 assistant diabetes educators, and 2 counsellors who were specialized in music and recreational activities. The children's abilities in managing their diabetes were assessed by using a scoring system before and after the camping. Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests with significance levels set at p < 0.05 (two-tailed) were conducted to determine whether there were any significant changes in the results from pre- and postcamp assessments. The children showed significant improvement in using glucose-monitoring devices, drawing insulin, injecting insulin, and choosing the right exchange of food with the p values of less than 0.05, 0.01, 0.01, and 0.01 respectively. We concluded that this short-term diabetes camp was educational for school children with diabetes. The campers improved their knowledge and skill in management of diabetes.