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Advances in diabetes technology have improved the quality of life and blood sugar control in children with type 1 diabetes. However, data shows that a subset of children are left behind. Individuals from low-income families and non-Hispanic Black (NHB) children have no benefits related to technological advances and are at greater risk of diabetes complications and adverse outcomes due to persistent poor blood sugar control.
In an invited comment to be published in the journal Diabetes Care, the researchers describe how socioeconomic differences and structural racism affect health care for children with diabetes. They illustrate the importance of looking for and addressing social determinants of health and delivering community-based interventions. The top priority is to study how the diabetes health team is involved in the process that causes health inequalities. They emphasize the need to align diabetes care with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Policy Statement, which advocates innovative cross-sectoral partnerships to improve equity in medicine, business, the environment, housing, justice, and education.
“Aligning diabetes care with this mission is our only hope of eliminating the differences in treatment and outcomes among children with type 1 diabetes,” said lead author Terri H. Lipman, Ph.D., CRNP , FAAN, the Miriam Stirl Foundation full professor of nutrition, professor of pediatric nursing and assistant dean of community involvement at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing.
Racial differences in the treatment of diabetes in children
More information:
Terri H. Lipman et al. Racial and Socio-Economic Differences in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: Time for a Paradigm Shift in Approach, Diabetes Care (2020). DOI: 10.2337 / dci20-0048 Provided by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Quote: Exploring the Effects of Structural Racism on Differences in Children with Type 1 Diabetes (2021, January 22), accessed January 23, 2021 at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-impact-racism- disparities-children-diabetes. html
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