Good health and well-being are a fundamental pillar of prosperous societies. However, health policy across the EU tends to focus on disease treatment.
A more ambitious and holistic approach to health and well-being that complements the biomedical model is thus required – shifting the focus towards health promotion and disease prevention.
Children and adolescents with diabetes frequently have limited access to traditional camps because of the need for accessible medical 9 staff. On the other note, adults with diabetes type I, have even less opportunities to attend such events, because they are mostly seen as those who have diabetes type II.
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 In a collaborative effort between Partners from the D-PATH Erasmus+ project, a D-CAMP project we managed to implement a diabetes camp to assist children, adolescents and adults in the management of their diabetes.  |
Diabetes Camp provided a secure and enjoyable setting for trying out novel selfcare techniques and learning new facts about managing diabetes. Children, teenagers and adults could meet and connect with people who share their experiences of having diabetes type I.
On the other hand, we knew about lack of diabetes awareness in wider society, including immediate surroundings of people who have diabetes like nursing staff, family and school staff.
Our decision to invite our D-PATH project team and participants to take part in the D-CAMP (diabetes camp) in Poland in order for them to understand the challenges that persons with diabetes must face, was one of the best decisions we could make. This further supports the importance of providing a diabetes camp experience, since children, adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes are often prevented from contact with other people with type I diabetes. Our diabetes camp experience has shown that peer-to-peer learning might be of great emotional and practical importance |
 Specialty medical camps not only need to incorporate more opportunities to foster resiliency, relationships, family support, and autonomy, but also collaborate with professionals who are certified, trained, and passionate about assisting children, youth and adults on their journey to a well-managed disease. Providing this type of opportunity can better assist patients as they address various aspects of diabetes self-management that develop as they age, which is essential to effective overall diabetes care and quality of life.