Activity monitoring in paediatric type 1 diabetes v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility and acceptability of physical activity monitoring as an educational tool in the management of paediatric type 1 diabetes
IRAS ID
228710
Contact name
Helen Quirk
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Physical activity (PA) has positive health outcomes for children with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) such as improved diabetes control, lipid profile and body composition, yet physical activity levels are low. The unpredictable nature of children's everyday activity causes fluctuations in blood glucose (BG) level. Low and high BG level are side-effects of PA, have significant symptoms and can cause a range of chronic complications. Parents typically have responsibility for diabetes management in pre-adolescent children and perceive physical activity as a challenge due to constant concerns about BG levels (Quirk et al., 2015).
Children and parents need support to help understand the relationship between physical activity and BG control. T1DM healthcare professionals perceive a lack of i) competence, ii) confidence and iii) time to provide physical activity advice and education in the clinical setting. Healthcare professionals perceive a need for evidence-based resources to facilitate physical activity discussion, education and promotion. Physical activity monitoring is already a widely recognised and accepted tool, with potential utility in paediatric diabetes.
One such approach could be that healthcare professionals graphically convey children’s physical activity levels and use this to raise awareness and promote discussion about daily physical activity level. In those using constant glucose monitoring devices, daily BG values could be graphically documented to help explain the relationship between PA and BG level. These devices have shown acceptability among children with T1DM. However, whether they can facilitate physical activity discussion and education is unknown.
This research will explore parents, children and HCPs' perceptions of physical activity monitoring in clinical practice. A physical activity monitoring programme will be developed, implemented in a small cohort of children with T1DM and evaluated for feasibility and acceptability. In the future, ‘physical activity clinical champions' could be trained to use physical activity monitoring for education and promotion in clinic settings.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/YH/0224
Date of REC Opinion
14 Aug 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion