Complications associated with a complex chronic illness, specifically, type 1 diabetes, negatively impact youth as they struggle to maintain healthy lifestyles. Type 1 diabetes is the second most common chronic illness affecting youth as well as one of the most psychologically and behaviorally demanding illnesses. Fortunately, organized camps have been shown to positively influence long-term outcomes for youth. Family Diabetes Camp, the only family medical program in the state where this study occurred, was created in collaboration with a local university, a diabetes center at a hospital, and a chapter of the Lions Club. This collaborative camp program aimed to test the effect of active participation in a Family Diabetes Camp upon youth outcomes for campers with type 1 diabetes. Specifically, the purpose was to evaluate the impact of a collaborative medical camp on campers’ resilience and youth developmental outcomes (e.g., independence). Family Diabetes Camp was designed using Outcome-Focused Programming (OFP) to promote positive youth development. The Family Diabetes Camp included 50 campers for the pre-test and post-test (n= 19 males and n= 31 females). While there were no statistically significant differences from pretest (M=4.97, SD= .53) to post-test scores (M=5.01, SD= .46), with t(50) = -.56, p= .57) researchers found a slight increase in resilience from pre to post-test. Using a retrospective measure, campers showed gains in the seven critical youth development outcomes identified by the American Camp Association. Finally, campers learned new knowledge about site injection, carbohydrate counting, and the use of exercise to help manage their diabetes. The impact associated with adapting activities and an environment to encourage, analyze, and challenge resilient behaviors is essential in encouraging independence, shared experiences, and effective disease management for youth living with type 1 diabetes. The camp, solely staffed by volunteers, included physicians, diabetes educators, certified therapeutic recreation specialists, dietitians, nurses, pump specialists, recreation professionals and students, and Lions Club Members. The camp program is unique not only in how it fills a void for youth with type 1 diabetes but how three large organizations work in concert to meet the needs of entire families. These types of data can be instrumental in establishing more camps and other out of school time programming that positively impacts quality of life, health care cost, and mortality among youth with type 1 diabetes. Subscribe to JPRA

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic disease that influences all health aspects. The self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that three psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness are necessary for motivation to engage in healthy behaviors. Through medical specialty camps, these needs can be met by educating campers on how to manage T1D and realize they are not alone. The volunteer-based, five-day, inaugural tween–teen camp for youth with T1D was held on the campus of a university. The entire camp experience was engineered around the three basic needs described by the SDT. These needs were promoted by physical and educational activities and meeting friends. The Basic Psychological Needs and Frustration Scale was administered as a pre-, post-, and follow-up test. Two of the four measures were significant, the autonomy pretest (M = 3.93; SD = 0.75) to posttest (M = 4.49; SD = 0.56), with t(25) = −6.258; p ≤ 0.001) and relatedness pretest (M = 4.31; SD = 0.79) to posttest (M = 4.53; SD = 0.49), with t(25) = −2.168; p = 0.040; however, mean scores declined at the 3-month follow-up. Campers’ blood glucose levels were collected through an online platform that allowed staff to monitor blood glucose levels, with the week’s average being 150 mg/dL, and almost 71% remaining in the TIR. The results can be helpful for practitioners who want to use the SDT to structure and examine the effectiveness of medical specialty camps for youth with T1D.

The purpose of this cohort study was to evaluate participants’ general self-management and experiences of autonomy while attending diabetes camp using quantitative and qualitative data collection. Through a partnership, an outdoor diabetes camp was designed to assist youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in their management. The REACH Teen program conducted a week-long summer camp for youth with T1D. The study was designed through Outcome-Focused Programming grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to meet campers’ needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Campers participated in outdoor activities and diabetes education designed to increase healthy behaviors. Twenty-three campers completed a 24-item pre- and post-camp questionnaire measuring participants’ perceived levels of satisfaction or frustration of their three basic psychological needs. At the conclusion of camp, 21 youth participated in 35-min focus group interviews. Through a paired-sample t-test, all three measures were trending in a positive direction, with relatedness (R) being the closest to significance. Cloud-based biometric data was used to compute the percentage of TIR for the week, during camp hours. The results from the focus group interviews revealed three themes: lack of outside understanding, varying levels of autonomy, and experiences at REACH. Not reporting TIR data outside of camp was a limitation of this study. Diabetes medical specialty camps grounded in SDT can provide an opportunity for campers to internalize healthy behaviors needed to manage their diabetes.

A triathlon is a multi-sport event that consists of three simultaneous events: swimming, biking, and running. This sport has experienced significant growth in the past few decades, with colleges and universities now participating. This exploratory mixed-methods study examined the motivations and perceived health benefits of college triathletes during the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Means-Ends of Recreation Scale and the Perceived Health Outcomes of Recreation Scale (N = 29), as well as semi-structured interviews (N = 4). Results indicate no difference in motives or health outcomes between male and female survey respondents. The thematic analysis of open-ended interview questions highlighted lived experiences. The results obtained provide preliminary evidence of the importance of motivation and health outcomes of college triathletes during the pandemic.