A systematic review of interventions to improve quality of life and well-being for parents of young children living with type 1 diabetes

Abstract

Many studies have shown a link between parental distress, adherence to the diabetes care plan of their child and the impact thereof on the quality of life for family members. Still, limited studies investigate the outcome of quality-of-life interventions for parents of young children living with type 1 diabetes. This study aimed to systematically review the scientific literature on these interventions to propose guidelines for future intervention development.  A systematic review of empirical literature available in various data basis was conducted to identify intervention studies that improve the quality of life of parents of children living with type 1 diabetes. Data extraction on study design and intervention component was limited to studies of children 0 – 11 years old. Seven articles representing different studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings supported the combination of behaviour modification and support interventions delivered via group work or telephone-based methods as most effective. Furthermore, the timing of interventions varied, while interventions were mostly developmentally tailored. Although most articles reported improvement in aspects of parents' quality of life, only one article yielded scientific evidence of improvement. Although interventions focused on various aspects, the lack of focus on parents as the target audience for interventions was evident, emphasising the need for the development of interventions focussing more specifically on the quality of life of parents of children living with type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, incorporating positive psychology activities in interventions could further benefit the development of the quality of life of parents of children living with type 1 diabetes.