EDDY

Early Detection of type 1 Diabetes in Youth (EDDY).

Why get involved in research

Background

The incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children is increasing. If T1D is undetected and untreated, life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurs – the most common cause of death in children with T1D. Over 25% of children diagnosed with T1D in Wales present in DKA.

Public involvement

In this study, educational materials, in the form of a re-useable shopping bag and leaflet, were produced and delivered to over 120,000 parents through the school or nursery that their child is attending. This listed the main warning signs of TD1 in children, and was developed with considerable patient and public involvement (PPI). Health visitors also provided the bag and information to children not yet attending a school or nursery. Community Diabetes Liaison Nurses contacted all schools and nurseries in Cardiff and Vale and Bridgend areas, to speak to teachers and parents about the campaign.

It was hoped that the re-useable bag will be kept by parents and assist in heightening awareness of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes. In addition, the EDDY study is contacting family doctors (GPs) and practice nurses in Bridgend, Cardiff and the Vale, where approximately 45 children are diagnosed with T1D each year, 99,781 children attend school or nursery and there are 85 GP practices. The intervention targeted at GPs and Practice Nurses includes a blood glucose/ketone meter and visits by the Community Diabetes Liaison Nurses.

Assessing feasibility

Assessment of feasibility will include relevance and acceptability of the intervention, the role, contribution and impact of each component, and exploration of the patient pathway from symptoms to diagnosis. All parents of children diagnosed with T1D during the study will be invited to participate in a qualitative interview to elicit a better understanding of the patient pathway, and explore factors influencing help-seeking behaviour. All GPs (and/or practice nurses) of newly diagnosed children will be invited to participate in qualitative interviews to identify factors that facilitated or hindered identification of T1D. The impact of different components of the intervention will be explored. Quantitative data will be collected from the Brecon Group database of all children diagnosed with T1D in Wales during the study period.