Glycemic control

Young children with diabetes (YCD) are a particularly vulnerable group because they are reliant on adult carers in their management. Diabetes treating teams (DTT) have a responsibility towards YCD targeting good glycemic control (GC) to improve quality of life and reduce risk of complications. It can be difficult, however, in occasions to balance between providing support for struggling families and considering safeguarding YCD who are not well looked after by carers in their management. We report a 6-year-old girl with type 1 diabetes with HbA1c ranged between 10.7% and 15.7%.

Adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) often receive self-management support from adult children, siblings or close friends residing outside of their home. However, the role of out-of-home support in patients’ self-management and well-being is unclear. Patients (N = 313) with HbA1c > 7.5% were recruited from community primary care clinics for a mobile health intervention trial and identified an out-of-home informal support person, herein called a CarePartner: 38% also had an in-home supporter.