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. 2020 Feb;21(1):128-134.
doi: 10.1111/pedi.12938. Epub 2019 Nov 6.

Identifying sources of support and barriers to physical activity in pediatric type 1 diabetes

Ruth Livny  1 , Wasim Said  1 , Smadar Shilo  2 , Ronen Bar-Yoseph  3 , Shoshana Gal  2   4 , Meirav Oren  2   4 , Milana Levy  2 , Ram Weiss  1   2   5 , Naim Shehadeh  2   5 , Nehama Zuckerman-Levin  2   5 , Michal Cohen  1   2   4   5
Affiliations

Identifying sources of support and barriers to physical activity in pediatric type 1 diabetes

Ruth Livny et al. Pediatr Diabetes. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: Reports suggest that children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) perform less than the recommended daily activity and are less active than their non-diabetic peers. We aimed to: (a) Identify barriers and sources of support for exercise performance in pediatric T1D. (b) Identify strengths and limitations in the exercise-directed education provided by our diabetes team.

Methods: Patients with T1D 5 to 20 years of age were recruited while attending a routine clinic visit. Participants completed a set of questionnaires assessing demographics, health data, barriers, and sources of support for exercise performance and diabetes related exercise education. The clinics' medical staff filled-out a questionnaire assessing the exercise-directed education provided in clinic.

Results: Ninety-six subjects were included in this study, mean age 13.7 ± 3.8 years. Median weekly reported exercise time was 3.5 hours. The two most prevalent barriers were fear of hypoglycemia and low fitness, reported by 76% and 51%, respectively. Mean family and social support scores were 4.1 ± 0.7 and 3.3 ± 1.1, respectively (1-5 scale); the latter correlated with the amount of activity performed (cc = 0.360; P < .001). The majority of participants (97%) reported receiving guidance for physical activity, to their satisfaction. Yet, knowledge and implementation were suboptimal. All staff members reported conducting routine exercise-directed teaching, with variations in frequency and content.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that in order to increase the amount of safely performed exercise in pediatric patients with T1D, fear of hypoglycemia must be addressed. Further efforts should focus on: (a) encouraging active family and social involvement (b) standardization of education.

Keywords: barriers; education; exercise; pediatrics; type 1 diabetes.

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References

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