Influences on Technology Use and Efficacy in Type 1 Diabetes.

The majority of people with type 1 diabetes have suboptimal glycemic control, increasing their complication risk. Technology to support diabetes self-care has advanced significantly and includes self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), insulin pump therapy (IPT), continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and sensor-augmented pump therapy (SAPT), which are stepping stones toward the "artificial pancreas" using closed-loop technology. Use of these technologies improves clinical outcomes for patients with the appropriate skills and motivation. This review addresses the psychosocial factors that influence both technology provision and clinical outcome and also how technology impacts on psychological outcomes. Optimal use of the various diabetes self-management technologies is influenced by previous self-care behaviors, demographic and psychological factors. Provision of IPT is also influenced by the same factors. Despite technology increasing the complexity of treatment, the lack of evidence for adverse psychological outcomes is reassuring. Treatment satisfaction is high, and discontinuation rates are low. However, technology will widen the health inequality gap if its use is limited to motivated patients who demonstrate good self-care behaviors. Pivotal to the success of the various technologies is provision of appropriate education at initiation of the technology, regular ongoing contact for treatment adjustments and trouble-shooting device issues plus access to psychological support when required. Additional support strategies may be required to help patients struggling with their diabetes to benefit from the available technology, recognizing that they may have most to gain.

HbA1c tracking and bio-psychosocial determinants of glycaemic control in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: retrospective cohort study and multilevel analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the association between HbA1c 6 months after diagnosis (6 m-HbA1c) and long-term glycaemic control in children with type 1 diabetes, accounting for other bio-psychosocial determinants. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study, included 155 children (≤16 yr) from the North of Scotland, diagnosed between January 1993 and August 2011, and receiving care between November 2008 and August 2012. Multilevel analysis explored the relationships between 6 m-HbA1c, other persistent or dynamic variables, and HbA1c. Patterns of glycaemic control were identified by cluster-analysis. RESULTS: 6 m-HbA1c was positively associated with diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis, shorter duration of partial-remission, female gender, and psychosocial adversity. In multilevel analysis the effects of 6 m-HbA1c on subsequent HbA1c trajectories remained significant after adjusting for patient- and observation-level predictors. An increase in 6 m-HbA1c of 10 mmol/mol (0.9%) was associated with an average increase in HbA1c levels of 5.3 (95% CI: 4.5-6.2) mmol/mol, or 0.48% (0.41 to 0.57%; p < 0.001) over the follow-up period. Coefficients for linear and quadratic growth identified sustained effects of 6 m-HbA1c on glycaemic control (p < 0.001). Higher average levels or accelerated increases in HbA1c were associated with age at diagnosis, falling BMI (in girls > boys), mental health diagnosis, major adverse life-events, single-parenting, child welfare concerns, neighbourhood deprivation, and clinic non-attendance. Cluster-analysis identified groups with poor or deteriorating control, characterized by older age at diagnosis, multiple psychosocial adversities, and maladaptive healthcare use. CONCLUSION: Early HbA1c predicted future glycaemic control across childhood. Trajectories were further modified by biological factors, exposures to psychosocial adversity, and healthcare use.

Patients' engagement with "Sweet Talk" - a text messaging support system for young people with diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines for optimizing type 1 diabetes in young people advocate intensive insulin therapy coupled with personal support from the health care team. "Sweet Talk" is a novel intervention designed to support patients between clinic visits using text messages sent to a mobile phone. Scheduled messages are tailored to patient profiles and diabetes self-management goals, and generic messages include topical "newsletters" and anonymized tips from other participants. The system also allows patients to submit data and questions to the diabetes care team. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to explore how patients with type 1 diabetes interact with the Sweet Talk system in order to understand its utility to this user group. METHODS: Subjects were 64 young people with diabetes who were participating in the intervention arms of a randomized controlled trial. All text messages submitted to Sweet Talk during a 12-month period were recorded. Messaging patterns and content were analyzed using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. RESULTS: Patients submitted 1180 messages during the observation period (mean 18.4, median 6). Messaging frequency ranged widely between participants (0-240) with a subset of 5 high users contributing 52% of the total. Patients' clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were not associated with total messaging frequency, although girls sent significantly more messages unrelated to diabetes than did boys (P = .002). The content of patients' messages fell into 8 main categories: blood glucose readings, diabetes questions, diabetes information, personal health administration, social messages, technical messages, message errors, and message responses. Unprompted submission of blood glucose values was the most frequent incoming message type (35% of total). Responses to requests for personal experiences and tips generated 40% of all the incoming messages, while topical news items also generated good responses. Patients also used the service to ask questions, submit information about their self-management, and order supplies. No patients nominated supporters to receive text messages about their self-management goals. Another option that was not used was the birthday reminder service. CONCLUSIONS: Automated, scheduled text messaging successfully engaged young people with diabetes. While the system was primarily designed to provide "push" support to patients, submission of clinical data and queries illustrates that it was seen as a trusted medium for communicating with care providers. Responses to the newsletters and submission of personal experiences and tips for circulation to other participants also illustrate the potential value of such interventions for establishing a sense of community. Although participants submitted relatively few messages, positive responses to the system suggest that most derived passive support from reading the messages. The Sweet Talk system could be readily adapted to suit other chronic disease models and age groups, and the results of this study may help to inform the design of future text message support interventions.

Unexplained hypoglycaemia on a pump.

A 10-year-old boy on an insulin pump with frequent episodes of hypoglycaemia, admitted to administering insulin to cover sweet intake using the pump prime function, thereby bypassing the bolus history that his mother monitored. This case demonstrates children's resourcefulness and technical abilities, and the difficulties parents experience in providing appropriate support.

What is the frequency of symptomatic mild hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes in the young?: assessment by novel mobile phone technology and computer-based interviewing.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of mild hypoglycemia is difficult to document, particularly, in young people with diabetes. The usual method is to ask for subject recall using written 'diaries'. OBJECTIVE: In 2004, we investigated if new technology could be used to ascertain an accurate prevalence of mild hypoglycemia, particularly self-treated. We compared the use of 'text messaging' and computer-based interviewing with the standard diary method. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven participants, aged 7-18 yr, with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for >1-yr duration. METHOD: Open comparison of three systems to collect the data on frequency of hypos (all severity): diary, mobile phone and computer-based interview (CBI), with qualitative analysis of patient feedback. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-two hypos were found over 705 recorded days. All were graded mild or moderate and none severe. Calculated frequency was 5.2 hypos per month: 13.6% subjects had no recorded episode, 36.4% had 1-4, 31.8% 5-9 and 18.2% >10. Mean blood glucose level at the onset of hypoglycemia was 3.0 mmol/L (1.0-5.2). Response rate of occurrence of hypoglycemic episode recorded by three systems is as follows - diary: 24 (65%) of the 37 subjects reported episodes, mobile: 18 (95%) of 19 subjects and CBI: 16 (89%) of 18 subjects. Sixty-five percent of subjects preferred the mobile and 54% of subjects preferred CBI compared with the diary. Fifty-five percent and 30.8% of subjects found the mobile and the CBI, respectively, easiest to fit into their everyday life. CONCLUSIONS: Mobile phone text messaging and CBI are alternatives to written diaries as methods of data collection. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, but both have the advantage of daily reminders, rapid response and quick data analysis. Using this technology, it was found that the frequency of hypoglycemia was higher (>3 times) than that previously recognized.

Participatory design of a text message scheduling system to support young people with diabetes.

Effective self-management of diabetes requires considerable behavioural change and continuous support from health professionals, which can be expensive. Information technology has the potential to offer cost-effective patient support, but internet use mostly relies on the active seeking of information. Text messaging offers an ideal channel for delivering 'push' support and facilitating reciprocal communication between patient and health professional. This paper describes a participatory design methodology to develop a text message scheduling system for supporting young people with diabetes. The project illustrates how this familiar design approach can be used in a short-term project to deliver a successful medical application. Close working between clinician and software developer led to successive user-informed iterations as the clinician became more aware of the system's potential and identified barriers. The result was a reliable, functional, acceptable and usable system that was effectively implemented in its intended setting.

A fresh start, or more of the same?

ON MAY 8 first minister Rhodri Morgan unveiled his recast nine-member cabinet to start the National Assembly for Wales' second term.

"Sweet Talk": text messaging support for intensive insulin therapy for young people with diabetes.

Optimal diabetes management involves considerable behavioural modification, while nonadherence contributes significantly to poor glycaemia. Extensive research on psychological interventions aiming to improve glycaemia suggests that current strategies are costly and time-consuming and in our experience do not appeal to young people with Type 1 diabetes. Text messaging has rapidly become a socially popular form of communication. It is personal, highly transportable, and widely used, particularly in the adolescent population. However, text messaging coupled with specific behavioural health strategies has yet to be utilised effectively. We have developed a novel support network ("Sweet Talk"), based on a unique text-messaging system designed to deliver individually targeted messages and general diabetes information. Individualised motivation strategies--based on social cognition theory, the health belief model, and goal setting--form the theoretical basis of the message content. Intensifying insulin therapy and increasing contact with the diabetes team can improve control, but are difficult to provide within existing resources. Our support system offers a means of contact and support between clinic visits and aims to increase adherence with intensive insulin regimens and to improve clinical outcome.