The use of puppets as a strategy for communicating with children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The use of puppets is an effective strategy for promoting children to express thoughts and feelings about daily experiences . However, very little information is available about its use in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. The procedures for using puppets during qualitative interviews in children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus were described, which involved three steps : 1) constructing the scenario − a “stage ” that simulates the environments they encounter (school, home) ; 2) making puppets that represent the child and people (parents, teachers, siblings, friends) encountered daily , and 3) promoting expression of thoughts and feelings using puppets during qualitative interviews . The advantages of using puppets were to allow children with type 1 diabetes mellitus to freely express thoughts and feelings about living with diabetes , to provide them with opportunities to demonstrate diabetes management behaviors , and expose factors that may interfere with diabetes management . A limitation to the use of puppets was the interviewer requiring skills to dynamically engage the child and encourage their active participation during the interaction . The use of puppets was recommended as a creative strategy for use in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus during qualitative interviews .