Improving outcomes for young adults with type 1 diabetes in Ireland: the D1 now feasibility and cluster randomised pilot study

Many young adults with type 1 diabetes find it hard to control their blood glucose levels. With many changes going on in their lives their diabetes is often not a priority. They also find it hard to engage with hospital diabetes services because of an inflexible clinic appointment system and seeing a different member of staff at each visit.

Since 2014 our research team, including young adults with type 1 diabetes, has been working on a new intervention to help young adults engage better with their diabetes team to help manage their diabetes. Our research has shown it is important to look at how young adults are introduced to the adult diabetes service; their clinic attendance and informal contacts with the diabetes team in between visits; and the building of relationships between young adults and their diabetes team.

To address these areas our new D1 now intervention will have a key worker that will guide the young adult through the adult diabetes service and identify their needs; an online service to help improve communication between health care professionals and young adults; and an agenda setting tool to help health care professionals and young adults to work together on making decisions about their diabetes care.

We will test out these parts of our intervention separately and then together to see if they are acceptable to both young adults and health care professionals and make changes if needed. We will then test the D1 now intervention out in a pilot study by comparing young adults in 3 diabetes centres who receive the D1 now intervention with young adults in another 3 centres who receive the same care as normal. At the end of this study, D1 now will be ready to be tested in a full trial across Ireland.

Award Date: 24 February 2017
Award Value: €679255
Principal Investigator: Professor Sean Dinneen
Host Institution: National University of Ireland, Galway
Scheme: DIFA 2017