Introduction: Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions among children. It is caused by total destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The disease cannot be prevented and is incurable. Its chronic nature and daily requirements create breeding ground for the development of a variety of psychological disorders. Goal: The goal of this diploma work is to present the experiences of a child with type 1 diabetes, to describe how the children and their parents face type 1 diabetes diagnosis, to present the most common psychological disorders that children with type 1 diabetes are faced with, and the tasks of health workers to recognise them and provide psychological support to the children, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Working methods: Used was the descriptive method, reviewing the literature in the Slovene and English languages. The literature that was used is based on reviewing original and reviewed scientific papers and book literature for the period between 2006 and 2016. The literature was searched in the following databases: CINAHL, Medline (PubMed), The Cochrane Collaboration and COBIB.SI. Results: Literature review showed that type 1 diabetes poses a huge challenge to the child and his/her family. Immediately after the diagnosis has been given, they need to face a myriad of feelings with a negative effect on the quality of their life. Research has shown that children with type 1 diabetes suffer from psychological disorders from two to three times more often, compared to their counterparts. Depression and phobic disorders or anxiety disorders are among the most common psychological disorders. Early detection of psychological disorders and prompt treatment, provided by health workers, is of utmost importance for the management of the disease and child's development. Discussion and conclusion: According to research, the number of children with type 1 diabetes is rising and will continue to rise, which increasingly makes it a public health problem. It has been found that children with type 1 diabetes are more exposed to the occurrence of psychological disorders, compared to their counterparts, which gives a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of children with type 1 diabetes an important role.
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