Peer instruction of home glucose monitoring

During a 2-wk summer camp for insulin-dependent children aged 9-15 yr, a voluntary program of home glucose monitoring using an Ames' Dextrometer was offered. The primary instructors were campers who had mastered the procedure and who, with limited staff assistance, tutored naive campers. By camp's end, 96% of all naive campers had practiced this new home glucose monitoring procedure. Procedural errors were infrequent and decreased as a function of practice. No significant differences were found in error rates as a function of either the age or sex of the user. The data suggest that home glucose monitoring could be incorporated into the treatment regimen of many young patients and that peer instruction is an effective method of introducing the procedure to young children.