Challenges and considerations for reducing diabetes distress and fear of hypoglycemia in parents of youth with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes management can be challenging for children and their families. To address psychosocial concerns for parents of youth with type 1 diabetes, we developed two parent-focused interventions to reduce their diabetes distress and fear of hypoglycemia. Our team conducted several of these interventions during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and recognized a need to make timely adjustments to our interventions. In this viewpoint article, we describe our experience conducting these manualized treatment groups during the pandemic, the range of challenges and concerns specific to COVID-19 that parents expressed, and how we adjusted our approach to better address parents’ treatment needs.