Objectives: Although Sweden has legislation underlining the specific need for diabetes care in school, a nationwide study in 2008 demonstrated deficiencies in the support of self-care management in school-aged children with type 1 diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on support of self-care management in school by a diabetes resource nurse available for school personnel.
Methods: A position as a diabetes resource nurse has been tested in Jönköping County Council for three years (2010-2013) to offer the school staff necessary knowledge about diabetes. The diabetes resource nurse visited the schools to give information in the child´s daily environment. After the first study year a questionnaire was answered by 27 parents were the diabetes resource nurse had visited their child´s school and by 58 parents where the nurse had not.
Results: Before the visit 60 % of the children had no member of staff at the school with principal responsibility to support diabetes self-care, after the visit the number was 18 %. After the visit 85 % of the children with diabetes had an individually written action plan for hypoglycemia compared to 62 % before the visit (p=0.031). Parents were significantly less worried during their child´s school day after a visit of the diabetes resourse nurse (p=0.015). No differences were seen in HbA1c between the groups in this first analysis but this will be evaluated again after a longer follow up period.
Conclusion: The preliminary result of the intervention shows that a diabetes resource nurse can successfully improve the support children with type 1 diabetes receive at school. A new questionnaire is currently being analyzed to evaluate the results after the three years during which the diabetes resourse nurse has performed 180 school visits. Further studies are needed to clarify which grades benefit the most from the support of a diabetes resource nurse and to inquire the school personnel´s experience of the resourse nurse´s work.