Assessment of Diabetic Children’s Problems Related to Insulin Injection

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic disorders in theworld. This study aimed to assess the diabetic children’s problems related to insulininjection. Study Design: Adescriptive design was conducted at diabetic outpatientclinic/children’s hospital affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospitals. Study subjects: Apurposive sample of 100 diabetic children from both genders and aged from 6-18 years(accompanying mothers were interviewed when necessary). Data collection tools: I.Structured interviewing questionnaire to gather data concerning characteristics of the studieddiabetic children and their parents, medical history, follow up and self care, children'sknowledge regarding diabetes and the problems related to insulin injection. II. Observationalchecklist of insulin injection to assess the studied children's reported practice of insulininjection. Results: The study revealed that, more than half of the studied children hadunsatisfactory total knowledge regarding type1 diabetes and insulin injection and more thanhalf of them had moderate problems related to insulin injection, also more than half of thechildren practiced insulin injection correctly and there was highly statistical significantdifference between problems related to insulin injection and children's total knowledgerelated to diabetes and practice of insulin injection. Conclusion: The study concluded that,most of the studied diabetic children had moderate and mild problems related to insulininjection. The study revealed an inadequate knowledge related to diabetes and insulintreatment. Recommendations: The study recommended continuous health education for thediabetic children and their parents regarding insulin injection technique, dose calculation,possible complications, injection problems and its management.