The role of nurses as educators in preventing the complications of Type 1 Diabetes among young patients : a systematic literature review

Abstract

The study focuses on understanding the central role of nurses in educating young children (ages between 3 and 7) who are diabetic with the purpose of preventing the complication of the disease. The research question is: what are the roles of nurses in preventing the complication of type 1 diabetes among young children? The author used Dorothea Orem’s Theory to as the basis of established knowledge to provide guidance for nurses on how to support independency of type 1 diabetes patients in applying self care. This is expected to alleviate the complication of diabetes amongst the young patients. A qualitative study was conducted using content analysis method to scrutinize existing literature on diabetes and diabetes complications. The result of the content analysis indicates four different roles of nurses that are pertinent to preventing the complication of type 1 diabetes which are; health promoter, continuous learner, autonomous agent, information disseminator. This study concludes that the combination of these roles in different situations could lead to (1) the empowerment of patients to properly take care of themselves with limited external intervention. (2) an opportunity to create customized treatment program for each patient based on their situational needs. Furthermore, the outcome of this study shows that education for the prevention of the complication is not meant only for pediatric patients but also for nurses who must continuously update their knowledge in order to better adjust to the changing needs of the diabetic patients.