Resilience in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes During COVID-19: A Qualitative Investigation

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to youth programming for youth with type 1 diabetes was disrupted, preventing access to opportunities to build meaningful relationships and important skills related to diabetes management. Using a qualitative descriptive methodological approach to study design and analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three youths aged 10-13. Interview prompts based on Wolin and Wolins (1993) conceptualization of resilience were asked to youth about their everyday experiences, including illness management, protective and risk factors, and resilience characteristics (insight, independence, relationships, initiative, creativity, humor, and morality). Findings suggest that although access to supports, opportunities, programs, and services designed with the specific needs of youth with T1D diminished with the onset of COVID-19, protective factors present within their immediate environments were perceived as helpful to their overall well-being. Protective factors included existing relationships supported through digital communication and parents, and other adult family members present within the household as compensatory adult support.
Introduction Relationships drive connectedness within supports, opportunities, programs, and services (SOPS), such as camps, acting as both a process and product of youth's experience. However, an estimated 6.7 million youth [...]