Caring for Children with Diabetes in the Shadow of COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges Experienced by Iranian Mothers

Yusef Haghighi Moghadam; Zhaleh Zeinaly; Fatemah Alhani; Mansoor Ghafori Fard

doi:10.18502/jimc.v5i1.9574

Yusef Haghighi Moghadam Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
Zhaleh Zeinaly Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
Fatemah Alhani Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Mansoor Ghafori Fard Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v5i1.9574

Keywords: Caring, Children, COVID-9 pandemic, Qualitative study, Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is one of the chronic diseases of childhood that needs long-term care and follow-up. The participation of the family, especially mothers, in caring for their child seems essential. This study aimed to investigate the challenges of Iranian mothers in caring for their children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus during the outbreak of COVID-19.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted on 22 participants who engaged in taking care of children with diabetes mellitus. Purposeful and snowball sampling were used to select the participants.

Results: The main theme of “diabetes control in the shadow of the COVID-19” and three categories emerged from data analysis.

Conclusion: Lack of taking the child to the doctor during the COVID-19 the pandemic impacted the management of diabetes in their child. Therefore, having a virtual communication channel between the family of diabetic children and the health care professionals could be helpful for managing the children’s disease.