Introduction and Objective: There is a need for interventions that respond to cultural strengths and psychosocial burdens of underserved youth with diabetes and their families. Religion/spirituality is a resource that Latinx youth and their parents may use when other resources are unavailable. There is a gap in knowledge about the religious/spiritual experiences and needs of parents of youth with diabetes. This study aimed to understand parental experiences and identify unmet psychosocial needs and coping resources for youth with diabetes and their families.Methods: Eligible participants included Latinx parents of youth aged 8-17 with new onset of type 1 or type 2 diabetes receiving care in a California pediatric safety net hospital. Virtual and in-person interviews were completed in English or Spanish. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory-based approach to identify family religious/spiritual resources and needs related to youth diabetes.Results: Participants were primarily mothers of school-aged youth with type 1 (83%) or type 2 (17%) diabetes, public insurance (83%), low-to-middle income (83%) and spoke Spanish at home (67%). Preliminarily, emerging themes included: (1) family members’ religious beliefs as a source of stress (“they feel like if I pray hard enough⋯its gonna go away”); (2) practices connecting to deceased family members (“just talk to your grandpa, he’s always listening always”); (3) spiritual practice is crucial private time for parent; and (4) God as a collaborator in caring for youth with diabetes (“I asked God to help me⋯so I could handle things.”)Conclusion: Latinx parents of youth with diabetes use religious/spiritual practices as a resource for caring for their child. Occasionally, other family members’ religious/spiritual beliefs and practices are a source of stress for parents. Future intervention studies should investigate religious/spiritual coping to address psychosocial needs related to religion/spirituality.
M. Visser: None. S.M. Namoc Leturia: None. C. Sayegh: None. J. Flores Garcia: None. J. Raymond: None. R.O. Barber: None.
Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists Children’s Hospital Los Angeles New Knowledge and Innovation Grant
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