Development of the DAFNEplus intervention: User Testing Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of the DAFNEplus intervention: User Testing Study
IRAS ID
208842
Contact name
Simon Heller
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 24 days
Research summary
DAFNE stands for Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating. It is a 5-day training course for adults with type 1 diabetes, delivered in small groups. DAFNE has been delivered to over 30,000 adults in the UK. Our recent research confirmed that after attending a DAFNE course, people have better quality of life, better glucose levels (in the short-term) and are admitted to hospital less often for diabetes emergencies. Although participants find DAFNE training useful, some find it tough to keep up the skills needed to maintain glucose levels to prevent diabetic complications. After the course, people also find it hard to get support from health professionals. They have asked us to improve the course to help others develop and keep their skills over the long term.\n\nThis current study is part of a larger programme of research called DAFNEplus. The aim of DAFNEplus is to develop and convert DAFNE into a lifelong package to help people better manage their blood glucose levels in the longer term, as high levels can cause dangerous complications. We are doing this by revising the course, putting together structured follow-up with health professionals after the course, and using technology to help people maintain the skills they need to manage their type 1 diabetes effectively.\n\nThe aim of this current study is to get feedback from patient and staff users on two parts of DAFNEplus: technology, including (a) The Glucollector and Withcare+ system and (b) Lifeguide website, and the structured follow-up support after the course. We will use the feedback that we get from this study to improve the design of DAFNEplus, before we pilot this in 2017. If the pilot study is successful, we will run a large scale trial to evaluate DAFNEplus in 14 centres starting in 2018.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0573
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion