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Maurizio Vanelli1, Alberto Munari2, Donata Fabbri2
1University Unit on Health systems organization, quality and sustainability, Parma, Italy. maurizio.vanelli@unipr.it.
Insights
This study used interactive drawing to assess children's understanding of type-1 diabetes (T1D). Findings show that drawing ability correlates with knowledge, helping tailor education for young patients with T1D.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Medical Education
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Type-1 diabetes (T1D) management requires active patient participation.
- Understanding a child's knowledge level is crucial for effective diabetes education.
- Tailoring educational interventions to a child's cognitive abilities enhances learning outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess young patients' understanding of their body and type-1 diabetes (T1D).
- To evaluate the effectiveness of interactive drawing as an educational assessment tool.
- To inform the development of tailored educational interventions for children with T1D.
Main Methods:
- 68 children (5-14 years) with T1D participated.
- Children drew the "inside" of the human body and answered questions about diabetes and insulin.
- The "interactive drawing" methodology involved guided verbalization and analysis of drawings and responses.
Main Results:
- 83.82% of drawings/responses were correct or partially correct.
- Incorrect drawings correlated with a lack of understanding regarding diabetes and insulin.
- Children with incomplete drawings and incorrect answers had higher HbA1c levels (8.36±0.97%) compared to those with correct responses (p=0.0023).
Conclusions:
- Interactive drawing is a valuable tool for assessing children's comprehension of T1D.
- This method helps healthcare professionals gauge understanding and tailor educational strategies.
- The approach provides pediatricians with a guideline for effective patient communication.
Aim:
to finding what young patients with type-1 diabetes (T1D) knows about their body and also on their illness in perspective to tailor educational interventions to their real ability to understand.
Methods:
the present study involved 68 children with T1D , 5 to 14 years old with a duration of diabetes ranging from 2 to 6 years and a total HbA1c mean value of 7.96±0.87%. The sample was divided into two age Groups: 28 children 5 to 10 years old were gathered in the Group 1 and 40 teenagers aged from 11 to 14 years in the Group 2. These patients were invited to draw over a white paper using a black pencil "The human body as it is made inside". Subsequently they were asked to explain: "what is diabetes?" and "where does insulin go?". According to the methodology of the "interactive drawing", the interviewer interacted with the children while drawing, forcing them to verbalize the reasons for their choices, to justify their proceeding, to explain their plan and then to explicit their theories. Drawings and replies were classified as Correct, Correct-but-Incomplete and Incorrect.
Results:
the overall production of correct/correct-but-incomplete drawings was 83.82% vs 16.20% of the incorrect ones. One-hundred of the children who have produced a correct drawing supplied also a correct verbal reply, whereas 100% of the children who have produced an incorrect drawing was unable to supply any information on diabetes or about insulin. Both younger and older subjects who produced a complete-but-incorrect drawing appeared to have misunderstood the action of insulin therapy (only 23% and 17% of correct replies). Children who produced incomplete drawings and provided incorrect replies to the questions about their disease showed also a HbA1c mean value higher (8.36±0.97%) compared to the children who drew and answered correctly (p=0.0023).
Conclusions:
the operative epistemic approach could represent a promising tool for a health professional team to verify the real understanding acquired by a child about T1D, and to provide pediatrician a guideline to directly communicate with his patient.
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