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- Title
Do‐it‐yourself continuous glucose monitoring in people aged 16 to 69 years with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative study.
- Authors
Sehgal, Shekhar; Boucsein, Alisa; Styles, Sara; Palmer, Octavia; Paul, Ryan G.; Crocket, Hamish; de Bock, Martin; Wheeler, Benjamin J.
- Abstract
Aims: In many countries, real‐time continuous glucose monitoring (rt‐CGM) is not funded, and cost presents a barrier to access. A do‐it‐yourself conversion of intermittently scanned CGM (DIY‐CGM) is a cheaper alternative. This qualitative study aimed to explore user experiences with DIY‐CGM in people aged 16 to 69 years with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Methods: Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants for semi‐structured virtual interviews exploring experiences of DIY‐CGM use. Participants were recruited after completing the intervention arm of a crossover randomised controlled trial that evaluated DIY‐CGM versus intermittently scanned CGM (isCGM). Participants were previously naive to DIY‐CGM and rt‐CGM but not isCGM. The DIY‐CGM intervention consisted of a Bluetooth bridge connected to isCGM, adding rt‐CGM functionality over 8 weeks. Interviews were transcribed, then thematic analysis was performed. Results: Interviews were with 12 people aged 16 to 65 years, with T1D: mean age ± SD 43 ± 14 years; baseline mean HbA1c ± SD 60 mmol/mol ± 9.9 (7.6 ± 0.9%) and time in range 59.8% ± 14.8%. Participants perceived that using DIY‐CGM improved both glycaemic control and aspects of quality of life. Alarm and trend functionality allowed participants to perceive reduced glycaemic variability overnight and following meals. The addition of a smartwatch increased discrete access to glucose information. There was a high degree of trust in DIY‐CGM. Challenges while using DIY‐CGM included signal loss during vigorous exercise, alarm fatigue and short battery life. Conclusions: This study suggests that for users, DIY‐CGM appears to be an acceptable alternative method of rt‐CGM.
- Subjects
NEW Zealand; RESEARCH methodology; GLYCEMIC control; TYPE 1 diabetes; WEARABLE technology; INTERVIEWING; EXPERIENCE; QUALITATIVE research; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; QUALITY of life; RESEARCH funding; STATISTICAL sampling; THEMATIC analysis; FATIGUE (Physiology); CONTINUOUS glucose monitoring; HEALTH self-care
- Publication
Diabetic Medicine, 2024, Vol 41, Issue 2, p1
- ISSN
0742-3071
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/dme.15168