Abstract
Camps for youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have grown in size and scope since they first emerged in the 1920s. Anecdotal evidence suggests that attending camp with other youth with T1D is beneficial, largely attributed to sharing fun, active experiences and removing the isolation of living with diabetes. However, few studies have evaluated the psychosocial and medical impacts of T1D camp attendance during and after camp sessions. In addition, T1D camps have been a setting for numerous studies on a variety of T1D-related research questions not related to camp itself, such as testing novel diabetes management technologies in an active, non-laboratory setting. This paper reviews the evidence of psychosocial and medical outcomes associated with T1D camp attendance across the globe, provides an overview of other research conducted at camp, and offers recommendations for future research conducted at T1D camp.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Anisha Dharshi and Erin Crosby for their assistance with this review. Marisa Hilliard received support from the National Institutes of Health (DK097696, PI: B Anderson).
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Kelly Fegan-Bohm, Jill Weissberg-Benchell, Daniel DeSalvo, Sheila Gunn, and Marisa Hilliard declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Psychosocial Aspects
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Fegan-Bohm, K., Weissberg-Benchell, J., DeSalvo, D. et al. Camp for Youth With Type 1 Diabetes. Curr Diab Rep 16, 68 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-016-0759-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-016-0759-x