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Teenagers spend an average of 72 hours a week plugged in.

They are using iPhones, iPods, Androids, Macs, and PCs. They text, instant message, chat, and play games. They are also diabetic and are poor compliers. They do not understand diabetes and so do not comply with treatment. A need has been identified by Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), a national leader in pediatric care, to incorporate technology that appeals to juveniles with diabetes for the purpose of improving compliance and diabetic management. This projects aim was to find a link between kids and the technology they are already using and make it easier to manage their disease so they are more likely to comply. In collaboration with the CCHMC Diabetes Education Team, this Capstone group reviewed and evaluated available software applications for cost, accessibility, ease, and teen appeal. A handout was developed for teenage diabetics that provides information about the various technological applications utilizing the devices they already have. These applications are free or inexpensive, easy to use, and efficient. Some of the applications communicate blood glucose results, carbohydrate counts, and insulin doses directly to the health care team at the push of a button while making it fun and entertaining for these young patients.
PURPOSE: To develop a summation of currently available technology for patients and families coping with juvenile diabetes to improve compliance and disease management. Cincinnati Childrens Hospital will distribute the tool developed through this project to their patients and families coping with juvenile diabetes. GOAL: To develop an informational brochure that contains a summary of available technology that can be utilized to increase compliance among juveniles with diabetes. EVALUATION: A tool was created to evaluate and rate iPhone, iPod, Android, Mac and PC applications that claim to be helpful in managing diabetes. From a pool of 31 applications, 2 educational applications and 10 management applications were selected that provide features that could be used to increase compliance. All are free, able to communicate with the health care team, and provide long-term tracking capabilities. Some provide education about diabetes, nutrition information, recipes, and carb/insulin ratio calculators. This tool was designed in collaboration with the Diabetes Education Team at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center. DISCUSSION: New technology is continuously developed every day. In the future we would like to see technology that includes applications that have the ability to communicate with insulin pumps, glucometers, and automatically send data to the healthcare team to further enhance compliance and accuracy of the data gathered and improved management of this disease.
Retrieved from Google Images, May 2012 Retrieved from Google Images, May 2012

CONSEQUENCES OF NONNON-COMPLIANCE: COMPLIANCE: Cardiovascular Disease Hypertension Glaucoma Optic Nerve Damage Blindness Tooth and Gum Decay and Loss Depression Gastrointestinal Problems Kidney Failure Neuropathy Amputation Coma DEATH

STATISTICS: 3 million Americans may have Type 1 diabetes 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes; about 215,000 people under age 20 Medical costs for Type 1 diabetes are nearly 65% higher than those with Type 2 diabetes 25% of juveniles with Type 1 diabetes do not comply with insulin regimens 81% of juveniles with Type 1 diabetes do not follow a proper diet 29% of juveniles with Type 1 diabetes do not measure their blood glucose levels and report fictitious levels

Retrieved from Google Images, May 2012

Retrieved from Google Images, May 2012

Acknowledgments: Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center Diabetes Education Team Sara Tamsukhin RD, MS, LD, CDE Tammy DiMuzio RN, MS, CDE

References: American Diabetes Association. (2012). Diabetes statistics. Retrieved from American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, April 3). Diabetes and me. Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/consumer/problems.htm Google, Inc. (2012, May 21). Google Images. Retrieved from Google: http://images.google.com/ Hunter College. (2012). SMOG Readability Formula. Retrieved from Hunter College: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/irb/educationtraining/smog-readability-formula Landau, Z., Mazor-Aronovitch, K., Boaz, M., Graph-Barel, C., Levek-Motola, N., & Pinhas Hamiel, O. (2011). The effectiveness of internet-based blood glucose monitoring system on improving diabetes control in adolescents with type I diabetes. Pediatric diabetes, 203-207. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-5448.2011.00800.x Liberman, A., Buckingham, B., & Phillip, M. (2012). Advanced technologies and treatments for diabetes: Diabetes technology and the human factor. The international journal of clinical practice, 79-84. doi:10.1111/j.17421241.2011.02858.x Sherr, J., Cengiz, E., & Tamborlane, W. (2009). From pumps to prevention: recent advances in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Drug discovery today, 973-981. doi:10.1016/j.drudis.2009.06.011 Sutcliffe, P., Martin, S., Sturt, J., Powell, J., Griffiths, F., Adams, A., & Dale, J. (2011). Systematic review of technologies to promote access and engagement of young people with diabetes into healthcare. BMC endocrine disorders, 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6823/11/1

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