Quality of Life Differences in Pre- and Post-Educational Treatment in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus During COVID-19

PURPOSE: The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic requires the use of online media to ensure monitoring of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children. Thus, this study aims to determine whether online education effectively improves the quality of life (QoL) in children with T1DM during the coronavirus-19 pandemic. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study, conducted from March to October 2020, utilized the paired t-test before and after online education. Moreover, it adopts the recommended Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 3.2 diabetes module for the 33 patients registered in the Pediatric Endocrine Outpatient Clinic of Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia. RESULTS: The QoL of all children (p = 0.011), parents (p = 0.001), and both children and parents (overall; p = 0.002) have shown significant improvement after the treatment. The QoL of parents, as a subcriterion, improved after the treatment. However, the improvement in the children in subcriterion treatment II (p = 0.186) was not significant. CONCLUSION: Online education has proven to create a better QoL almost in all children with T1DM during the coronavirus-19 pandemic.