Promoting Self-Management Behaviors In Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Using Digital Storytelling: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: This study aimed to assess the effects of digital storytelling on the self-management behavior of adolescents with type 1 diabetes (TID). Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 60 adolescents with TID were randomly allocated into two parallel groups: intervention (training with digital storytelling method, n=33) or control (training with a conventional method, n=33). The primary outcome was the assessment of the Self-Management behavior of adolescents with TID (SMOD-A), at baseline and three months after the intervention. Results: The results revealed that digital storytelling can lead to significant improvement in self-management behaviors amongst the adolescents with TID (P=0.005), while in the control group no significant changes were observed (P>0.05). The results also showed that the level of collaboration with parent’s dimension scores had a significant reverse relationship with the adolescent age after digital storytelling (p = 0.048). With respect to HbA1c levels, significant changes were not observed in any of the groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: Digital storytelling is practicable and a potentially beneficial training modality for adolescents with TID. Trial registration This trial was respectively registered.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: IRCT20191220045828N1. Date of registration: Oct 29. 2020 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04608058?term=zarifsanaiey&draw=2&rank=1)