Identifying opportunities and challenges: how children use technologies for managing diabetes

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common chronic diseases for children in the United States. Once diagnosed, the family must manage the disease to prevent further complications. Recent health technologies, like mobile phone health applications (mHealth apps), have become useful tools to support health monitoring, particularly for children living in the digital era. We used a narrative story to prompt 10 children with T1D to describe their diabetes management routines during semi-structured video interviews. Our results show that while the children feel a sense of ownership over their management routine, especially if they use newer monitoring technologies (e.g., continuous glucose monitor), they experience many challenges in managing their blood glucose (BG) levels, particularly during school. They also expressed emerging fears of security and privacy issues associated with technology use. By capturing these themes in T1D management from the children's perspective, we discuss design implications for developing supportive mHealth interventions.