Abstract
The purposes of the present study were to explore long-term effects of a diabetes camp on self-care behavior of Japanese children with type 1 diabetes, as well as relations between the children's self-care behavior and self-efficacy, and the duration of their diabetes. The participants, 20 children with type 1 diabetes, were asked to complete questionnaires at the beginning and end of a diabetes camp. In addition, a follow-up survey was administered 6 months after they left the camp. The results were as follows: (a) the participants' self-care behavior improved after attending the camp, but this effect was not maintained after several months. (b) participants who had had diabetes for a long duration showed less improvement in self-care behavior than those who had recently been diagnosed with diabetes. (c) participants with high self-efficacy exhibited a larger degree of improvement in self-care behavior than those with low self-efficacy. These findings suggest the importance of considering duration of diabetes and self-efficacy in improving self-care behavior of summer camp participants with type 1 diabetes.
