Residential Treatment Centers in Europe for Children and Youth with Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Residential centers for children with diabetes in Germany, Netherlands, Scotland, and Den mark were visited during 1979 and 1980 to determine applicability of this approach to North American needs. Information was updated in 1982 and data from France added. Duration of patient stay was from one month to many years. All of the centers sought to involve the family in rehabilitation. Direction varied from full-time physician to nonmedical; and involvement of nurses, psychologists, and social workers ranged from nil to intense. Professional staffing ap peared to have no direct relationship to success of the houses; rather, good results depended upon a committed staff providing love and even-handed discipline. No comparative studies are available to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these houses, which had a per diem cost, excluding capital investment, of $31 to $90 per patient.