Educational Workshop using games improves self-monitoring of blood glucose among children.
Léia Alves Kaneto, Elaine Buchhorn Cintra Damião, Maria de La Ó Ramallo Verissimo and 3 others
PMID 30379242WHAT IT FOUND
One game-based workshop helped children with type 1 diabetes perform more blood glucose monitoring steps correctly, from 5.3 to 6.6 on average.
Still, no child reached 100% compliance with all steps, and one step worsened.
Key findings
01In the 33 children analysed, the mean number of blood glucose monitoring steps done correctly was 5.3 before the workshop and 6.6 after it, with a p value of 0.001.
02Actions that support accurate readings improved: rotating fingers rose from 84.8% to 100%, changing the device chip rose from 93.9% to 100%, and checking meter date and time settings rose from 78.8% to 93.9%.
03Overall, the children did not reach 100% compliance with all steps, and the step of not milking the fingertip was worse in most groups after the workshop.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 33 children were analysed, selected by convenience from two outpatient clinics, so the result may not apply to other children with diabetes. There was no control group, so the change cannot be separated from the routine clinic visit, extra attention, or time. Follow-up was only 4 to 6 weeks, and the paper does not report longer-term maintenance. Even after the workshop, no child performed every step correctly, and one step, not milking the fingertip, was worse in most groups. Some information about why children did the steps incorrectly was not collected systematically.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that games alone solve blood glucose monitoring in children with type 1 diabetes. This study had no control group, and after the workshop no child performed every step correctly.