Introduction and Objective: Overnight diabetes camp positively impacts youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Little is known about the mechanisms or longevity of camp’s impact. The current study evaluates the perceived impact of diabetes camp and hypothesized mechanisms of impact from adults who attended camp as youth and current diabetes camp staff. Methods: 51 adults (Mage= 34.4+12.4) who either attended overnight diabetes camp as youth or who currently worked at an overnight diabetes camp participated in 12 focus groups, 60-90 minutes long, via video conferencing. Qualitative analyses were completed using inductive and deductive coding. A team of coders achieved excellent interrater reliability (α0.9). Results: Analysis revealed a variety of themes related to the impact of diabetes camp, including that diabetes camp had a positive impact (581 mentions) on campers’ relationships, sense of normalcy, emotional wellbeing, confidence and autonomy, diabetes knowledge, professional development, and knowledge about diabetes technology. Negative experiences were endorsed less frequently (78 mentions) and included such areas as homesickness and injuries. Participants surmised various reasons why camp has such a positive impact on youth. Participants expressed a belief that nearly all youth with diabetes can benefit from participation in diabetes camp. Conclusion: This study evaluated the perceived impact of diabetes camp and mechanisms of camp’s impact via qualitative focus groups for adults who attended or worked at diabetes camps. Our findings suggest that diabetes camp can have a transformative and long-lasting impact on youth with T1D. Participants identified positive impacts across several domains, as well as perceived mechanisms of impact. Findings from the current study informed an ongoing, longitudinal study of youth with T1D attending diabetes camp. Disclosure K. Brzezinski: Stock/Shareholder; Current; Abbott, AbbVie Inc. Research Support; Current; American Diabetes Association, Eli Lilly and Company, Helmsley Charitable Trust. Other - Invited Speaker with Honorarium; Ended; Association of Diabetes Care Current; National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. J. Shapiro: Research Support; Current; American Diabetes Association, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Eli Lilly and Company. L.A. Woodside: None. C. Turek: Research Support; Current; American Diabetes Association, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Eli Lilly and Company, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Other - I serve as a stakeholder/advisor on a project at Yale University that seeks to understand barriers to/ways to support CGM use in Black and Latinx adolescents with type 1 diabetes. I am paid a small amount for participation in stakeholder/advisory panel meetings.; Current; Yale University. Employee; Ended; Yale University. J. Weissberg-Benchell: Consultant; Ended; Sanofi. L. Castillo: None. L. Barrera: None. B.M. Pollock: None. A.B. Becker: None. K. Mendu: None. Funding American Diabetes Association (12-24-PRA-01)
BRZEZINSKI et al. (Fri,) studied this question.