Winner

#Type1uncut – digital resource for young adults with Type 1 diabetes

by Diabetes UK/#Type1uncut Young Peoples’ Group

#Type1uncut was set up to provide a series of online resources to help young adults with Type 1 diabetes manage their condition: it includes videos about what it is like to live with Type 1 diabetes – from chats about sex to tips on dealing with over-caring parents – with an emphasis on not sugar-coating the issues. Followers can communicate on Twitter and Google Hangouts. Life expectancy (although improving) is reduced by up to 11-13 years (2015) for a person with the condition and national policy has highlighted failings in the effective transition of young adults from paediatric to adult care. The project’s intended beneficiaries are an extremely vulnerable group facing significant life changes which occur between the ages of 18 and 30.

Judges comment:

“The judges thought this an effective way of using technology to address different needs and it gives a valuable and honest insight from Type 1 patients. Judges commented: “I would have really benefitted from this resource at this age and I will definitely recommend this to HCPs for transition support”; “I think this will help greatly with patient engagement as it is a great breakdown of barriers with the young Type 1 people sharing their own views. It has made it easy for people to access and the subjects are spot on as obviously a big issue”.”

Finalist

Parent engagement for the CYPWMDN and CYPEMDN networks

by Birmingham Children’s Hospital/East and West Midlands Paediatric Networks

Regional networks for children and young people with diabetes have been very successful at engaging parent representatives to support the networks and to help clinicians listen to the views of parents and users of services. It was agreed that the Children and Young People’s East Midlands Diabetes Network (CYPEMDN) and the Children and Young People’s West Midlands Diabetes Network (CYPWMDN) should have a higher level of user involvement and they began using Skype to support parent representatives. These calls take place before the quarterly business and education meetings and allow parents to feed into the agenda and obtain the views of other parents across the region via social media. There is then a follow-up Skype meeting afterwards to go through any issues arising.

Judges comment:

“A clear problem, with a simple solution. Great parent engagement. Judges liked the simplicity and cost-effectiveness. It could be easily “roll outable” in other areas. They also liked the ethos & inclusivity of the project. It showed the importance of improving parent engagement & great to see the successful use of SKYPE technology.”

Finalist

The Solent Diabetes Voice – reaching out to the community

by Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth NHS Trust

Traditionally, communication has been limited between primary and specialist care when providing holistic, seamless diabetes care. As part of an overall package to support primary care delivering diabetes within the community, the team developed a communication portal: it delivers electronically a diabetes journal, Solent Diabetes Voice (SDV), to every practice manager, lead diabetes GP and lead diabetes nurse within the Portsmouth district. It provides a variety of information, including reviews of pathways, education course delivery modules and new drug developments. In a recent survey, all replies indicated SDV was educational, informative, kept them up to date with diabetes care and events locally and had a positive impact upon their clinical practice.

Judges comment:

“This is a great local project with joined up service delivery of its members and can be easily replicated.”

Finalist

Virtual promotion of physical activity in Type 2 diabetes

by Raigmore Hospital

The purpose of this project was to aid in the development of a web-based physical activity intervention for people with Type 2 diabetes living in remote and rural areas. The need for clear information was identified with regard to diabetes as well as the call for accurate advice for both patients and health professionals. The need for a ‘virtual trainer’ for support, advice and help with goal setting and interactive maps showing physical activity opportunities were all deemed important. The team designed a six-month randomised controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of the website developed, with and without interactive design elements – DAVE (Diabetes and Virtual Exercise). Self-efficacy improved and there were improvements in weight and glycaemic control in many participants.

Judges comment:

“This was a well-written and well-organised entry, within a difficult group of people. The judges were impressed with the thought which has gone in to the project, it is motivational and it would be really interesting to see where it is in a year’s time.”