Diabetes is a complex chronic condition that requires ongoing self-management. People with diabetes (PWD) and their caregivers (ie, parent) spend less than 1% of their time in a year visiting with their diabetes health care provider (HCP). 1,2 As a result, PWD and their caregivers troubleshoot day-today activities on their own. It is estimated PWD spend 8000 hours per year self-managing their diabetes outside of the medical setting. 1 The Diabetes, Attitudes, Wishes and Needs Second Study (DAWN2) suggests PWD feel that their HCPs aren't always available to provide patient-centered care related to their diabetes. 3 This lack of support, intensity of diabetes management, and social stigma can be associated with burnout, diabetes distress, 4 higher hemoglobin A1C (A1C) and body mass index. 5 In 831042D STXXX10.

BackgroundSocially assistive robotics is a growing area for geriatric research.ObjectiveThis single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to investigate the use of PARO, a therapeutic, socially assistive pet robot, in improving mood, and stimulating social interaction and communication for people with dementia in the community.MethodsFor the study, 40 community-dwelling older Chinese adults (≥60 years) with mild to moderate dementia will be recruited and randomly assigned to the PARO therapy group or the psychosocial activities control group. Both treatments consist of six, 30-minute weekly sessions, which will be conducted in a geriatric day hospital. Subjects in both groups will be assessed by a trained research assistant at baseline (pre-), during, and post-treatment. Mood (assessed with a simplified face scale), social interaction, and communication (ie, facial expressions and reactions towards each treatment, assessed with an observation table) will be the primary outcome measures. Secondary outcome measures will include assessments on cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination) and depressive symptoms (Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia), as well as caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Inventory). Subjective impression towards each treatment and qualitative comments from the caregivers, facilitator, and therapists will also be obtained.ResultsRecruitment to the pilot study began in 2014 and the last subject is expected to complete their post-treatment assessment in 2015.ConclusionsThis will be the first RCT using PARO to improve mood, and stimulate social interaction and communication in the care of older people with dementia, as well as provide an evidence basis for the use of PARO in dementia care in Hong Kong.Trial RegistrationThe Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12614000037606; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12614000037606 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6Xi7uXdu9).

Background Young adulthood is marked by transitions that impact diabetes self-management behaviors, which require ongoing diabetes education and support. Traditional diabetes education programs and services currently do not meet the needs of many young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) as they continue to fall through the cracks of clinical services. Age-centered diabetes education programs and services present an opportunity for young adults to meet in a supportive environment and gain a better understanding about diabetes management. Objective The aim of the study was to identify the health and well-being needs of Australian young adults aged between 18 and 35 years with T1DM to develop appropriate solutions to keep them engaged with diabetes self-management. Methods In total, 13 semistructured individual interviews and self-reported surveys were obtained to understand participants’ experiences with diabetes education programs and services. Together with survey data, transcribed interviews were analyzed into themes and categories using comparative analysis to identify the health and well-being needs of young adults with T1DM during young adulthood. Results Diabetes education and service needs for young adults with T1DM related to improving access to existing diabetes education programs and services, having credible informational resources, as well as having personalized diabetes management advice. Participants especially valued relevant and real-time information and opportunities for peer support, mostly sourced from Web-based platforms. Conclusions There is a need for diabetes education programs and services to be age-appropriate and easily accessible, to provide relevant and credible information, and to provide opportunities for peer support to better support young adults with T1DM. These findings also support the use of diabetes education programs or services delivered online through mHealth systems in this population.

Background: This case study describes the formation of the Intercultural Diabetes Online Community Research council (iDOCr) and community advisory board (CAB) to engage the diabetes community and researchers in the codesign of community-based participatory research (CBPR) to examine online peer support in type 2 diabetes (T2D).Method: Social media engagement was the foundation for CBPR knowledge generation. During the project, the iDOCr council and CAB (n = 27) met quarterly via video conferencing and three times in person during national diabetes meetings. Data from four Twitter chats were used to explore the usefulness and utility of Twitter data to learn about concerns and priorities of the diabetes online community (DOC) and supported the evolution of iDOCr, the development of a research question and the design of a CBPR study. Results:The iDOCr project (1) created a diverse CAB; (2) raised awareness of iDOCr and online peer support, which resulted in support and trust from key opinion leaders within the DOC to enable future partnerships for research and funding; (3) engaged with English-and Spanish-speaking DOC users through social media; and (4) designed a CBPR study supported by Twitter chat data analyses. Conclusions:Integrating the voice of people with diabetes (PWD) and the DOC in designing CBPR, through use of a CAB, ensures the most important and relevant research questions are asked. Additional research focused on online peer support may increase health care provider confidence in referring PWD to this low-cost and relatively accessible resource with the potential power to advance health.

Background Previous research has suggested beneficial glycemic outcomes for people with type 2 diabetes with the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM); yet, there is a dearth of data examining CGM in diverse populations. Additionally, the use of online peer support communities (OPSCs) can further support the application of CGM information to improve health behaviors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess participant experiences with an CGM+OPSC intervention. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted after a 12-week combined CGM and OPSC intervention with Hispanic, Spanish-speaking people with type 2 diabetes not using insulin. The OPSC was managed by five trained bilingual peer facilitators. Interviews were conducted in Spanish. Audio recordings were translated and transcribed and then reviewed by the interviewer for accuracy. Emergent themes were identified through inductive thematic analysis. Results Twenty-six participants completed interviews. Three main themes emerged from the data: 1) CGM supports participants’ understanding of the relationship between glucose levels and health behaviors such as healthy eating, being active, taking medication, stress reduction, and improving sleep; 2) the OPSC reinforced how to make healthy choices through personal experiments, collective learning, and social support, and 3) CGM+OPSC supports behavior change and increases confidence. Conclusion When combined, CGM+OPSC appear to create a positive feedback loop to reinforce and optimize healthy behaviors for diabetes self-management in individuals with type 2 diabetes who are not on insulin. The provision of such an intervention tailored to Hispanic, Spanish-speaking individuals has the potential to address the health care disparity seen in this population.