Evaluating diabetes camps for children with type 1 diabetes in Japan: leaders' perspectives from a qualitative study

Diabetes camps (DCs) provide a safe and engaging environment for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) worldwide. Despite the positive impacts of DCs on disease management, the lack of formal guidelines for designing activities and strategies for sustainable development remains unexplored.

Using Japan as a case study, we conducted a qualitative study involving semistructured interviews with eight DC organisers. A discussion guide with four open-ended questions was developed to facilitate the interviews. All sessions were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using NVivo V.12 Plus software.

Thematic analysis highlighted three core themes: (1) Objective of DCs; (2) Planning and implementation of DCs and (3) Challenges and future expectations. All participants reported that DCs were fun and improved understanding of self-management of T1DM. However, organisers indicated that they encountered some challenges, such as establishing the content of the activities, testing the effectiveness and safety issues.

Our findings emphasise that ensuring the safety of DC activities while fostering collaboration with healthcare professionals and researchers is essential for the sustainable development of DCs. Future implementation of DC programmes is expected to provide broader support and health benefits for a larger population of children with T1DM.