It's "all in the family": responsibility for diabetes care

Despite its importance, diabetes management it is an area of great difficulty for children and adolescents. As children reach the teenage years, satisfactory levels of treatment adherence and glycemic control become increasingly difficult to obtain. In order to promote better diabetes care, the present paper emphasizes the need for families to remain actively involved in their youngster's diabetes care, regardless of the child's age. Recent studies of children and adolescents with diabetes are described that support the view that, even as responsibility for diabetes care shifts from a parent-managed to an adolescent-managed system, family members should remain actively involved in day to day management. Based on current research efforts, the specific ways that family members can remain active and involved are discussed.