We Can Co It! Kids Taking Charge of Their Diabetes

Year Awarded: 2003
Project Leaders:
Lorraine Weatherspoon, Ph.D, RD Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences; Kathy Majewski, MS, RD, MSU Extension; Amy Saxe, MPH, RD, MSU Extension; Cindy Brock, MSU Extension.

Project Description:
Type 2 diabetes, typically an adult disease, is increasing in youth. Risk awareness, early diagnosis, and adequate management are keys to potentially delaying disease onset and preventing devastating complications. Therefore, “Sticking to It!” – a community-based education program of intervention for obese women with diabetes, will be modified to address issues specific to youth at risk for or with Type 2 Diabetes. “We Can Do It!” will assist participants and their families by teaching them how to take charge of diabetes by better using community and health care support resources and interacting positively with their health care providers. Also, the program will encourage young people to engage in appropriate nutrition and physical activity practices.

Recent Developments: (Article from Forum, January-March 2004)

Type 2 Diabetes, a disease once believed to affect adults exclusively, is now being diagnosed increasingly among young people. With support from FACT, MSU Extension is working in conjunction with the MSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition to develop a community-based program called “We Can Do It!” to help children and families recognize and manage their diabetes in an effort to delay disease onset and prevent early complications. This program serves as an adjunct to disease-specific diabetes education programs to assist with the day-to-day management of disease.

“Proper management of diabetes among children and adolescents is critical to delaying complications of the disease,” says Amy Saxe, project co-leader with MSU Extension. “We have developed a program that helps adolescents and their families manage the day-to-day activities that are so important to improving and maintaining overall health. As participants and their families complete the program, we will measure behavior, attitude, and knowledge changes as well as evaluate the effectiveness of We Can Do It! in helping adolescents, with the support of their families and community, manage diabetes."

We Can Do It!, a pilot project in Montmorency, Presque Isle, and Cheboygan counties, is designed specifically for adolescents and targets issues specific to youth. The program shows participants and their families how to take charge of diabetes, interact positively with their health care providers, and use community resources to manage their diabetes.

“If this pilot project proves to be successful” said Saxe, “we will work to disseminate the program throughout Michigan.”