This mixed method prospective randomized controlled study will examine the effects of a post diagnosis intervention using parent mentors as social support for parents of young children (1 month-11 years old) newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The primary aim is to: Compare concern, worry and stress, feelings of confidence, appraisal of impact of chronic illness on family, and perceptions of social support among mothers and fathers receiving the intervention (home visits and/or phone call support) in addition to traditional health care team support, to those sent home with only traditional health care team support at baseline, 6 and 12 months after diagnosis. The secondary aim is to: Describe the experiences of both the parents receiving the intervention, and the parent mentors. A purposively recruited group of experienced mothers of young children with diabetes will receive training by the investigator to provide informational, affirmational, and emotional support using a modified version of Ireys' parent support curriculum. The parent mentors will be assigned to provide one-to-one visits and phone call support over a period of 12 months for those families of young children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes who randomize to the intervention group. A sample of 60 mothers and 40 fathers from the diabetes clinics will be recruited to participate in the study and randomized to either the intervention or control group. The parent mentors will carefully document the father's participation in the intervention. Group differences will be tested, using Ireys' Social Support model to look at psychosocial variables such as parent concerns and stress with diabetes (Banion Diabetes Management Concern Questionnaire), general worry and stress (Parent Worry Scale), parental perceptions of confidence in managing the child's chronic condition (Parent Confidence Scale), parents' perception of the child's illness in the family (Impact on Family Scale), and parental perceptions of emotional, affirmational, and informational support (Social Support Inventory). Open-ended interviews of both the mothers and fathers who received the intervention, and the parent mentors who provided the intervention, will be completed to describe their experiences. ? ? ?
| Keough, Lori; Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Crawford, Sybil et al. (2011) Self-management of Type 1 Diabetes Across Adolescence. Diabetes Educ 37:486-500 |
| Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Bova, Carol; Lee, Mary et al. (2011) Mentoring fathers of children newly diagnosed with T1DM. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 36:224-31 |
| Rearick, Ellen M; Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Bova, Carol et al. (2011) Parents of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes: experiences with social support and family management. Diabetes Educ 37:508-18 |
| Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Lee, Mary M (2011) Parent mentor perspectives on providing social support to empower parents. Diabetes Educ 37:35-43 |
| Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Bova, Carol; Leung, Katherine et al. (2010) Social Support to Empower Parents (STEP): an intervention for parents of young children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Educ 36:88-97 |
| Deshefy-Longhi, T; Sullivan-Bolyai, S; Dixon, J K (2009) Data Collection Order: A Primer. South Online J Nurs Res 9:6 |
| Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan (2009) Familias Apoyadas: Latino families supporting each other for diabetes care. J Pediatr Nurs 24:495-505 |
| Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Bova, Carol; Deatrick, Janet A et al. (2007) Barriers and strategies for recruiting study participants in clinical settings. West J Nurs Res 29:486-500 |
| Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Bova, Carol; Harper, Doreen (2005) Developing and refining interventions in persons with health disparities: the use of qualitative description. Nurs Outlook 53:127-33 |
