Experiences of Parent Coaches in an Intervention for Parents of Young Children Newly Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes

This paper explores parent coaching experiences supporting parents of young children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in a clinical trial. In a trial for 157 parents, those in the intervention arm ( = 116) were paired with a parent coach (n = 37; Mage = 37.9 years, SD = 3.9; 94.6% mothers, 81.1% White non-Hispanic). Parent coaches provided diabetes-specific social support. Parent coaches completed monthly surveys and satisfaction/feasibility surveys, with a subset (n = 7) undergoing qualitative interviews at the end of this study. There were 2262 contacts between participants and their parent coaches, averaging 14.4 (SD = 9.3) per participant. Parent coaches reported that the most commonly used methods were text messages (67.9%) and emails (18.7%), with 33.6% having in-person visits. Coaches reported high satisfaction and belief in their usefulness to participants during the first 9 months after T1D diagnosis. Themes discussed by parent coaches about their experience in mentoring included relationship building, expertise sharing, personal growth, gratification, and intervention optimization suggestions. Parent coaching post T1D diagnosis involves regular, multi-method contacts. It is highly acceptable and valuable for parent coaches to mentor other parents of young children newly diagnosed with T1D.