Improving access to diabetes technologies in children and young people with type 1 diabetes: healthcare professionals' perspectives and views
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Aims
To understand and explore the strategies, resources, and interventions healthcare professionals are implementing, or recommend implementing, to promote more equitable access to diabetes technology amongst children and young people (CYP) with type 1 diabetes in the UK.
Methods
Interviews were conducted with (n = 29) healthcare professionals working in paediatric diabetes in England from (n = 15) purposively selected sites. Data were analysed thematically.
Results
Healthcare professionals reported many strategies to help address diabetes technology access disparities in CYP, structured under the following themes: ‘Re-evaluating staff levels, roles, and efficiency’; ‘Improving communication’; ‘Promoting peer support and community outreach’; ‘Providing financial and social support for deprived CYP/caregivers’; ‘Encouraging CYP/caregiver choice;’ and ‘Funding, sustainability, and burnout.’ Many of these strategies appeared to be local (e.g., site-specific) solutions, made possible by short-term, one-off funding schemes and innovation by individual team members. While some proposed strategies appeared to improve staff time-efficiencies allowing greater numbers of CYPs to be moved onto technology, others, as interviewees noted, could add to individual team members' workloads and stress.
Conclusions
Healthcare professionals appeared highly committed to addressing technology access disparities in CYP. While some of their recommendations may be easier to implement than others, our findings underscore the importance of adopting a joined-up, integrated approach to promoting equitable technology access across the UK. This would require closer collaboration and resource-sharing within and across sites, backed by sustainable, long-term funding, with a significant portion dedicated to increasing staffing capacity to support the practical implementation of these strategies.
To understand and explore the strategies, resources, and interventions healthcare professionals are implementing, or recommend implementing, to promote more equitable access to diabetes technology amongst children and young people (CYP) with type 1 diabetes in the UK.
Methods
Interviews were conducted with (n = 29) healthcare professionals working in paediatric diabetes in England from (n = 15) purposively selected sites. Data were analysed thematically.
Results
Healthcare professionals reported many strategies to help address diabetes technology access disparities in CYP, structured under the following themes: ‘Re-evaluating staff levels, roles, and efficiency’; ‘Improving communication’; ‘Promoting peer support and community outreach’; ‘Providing financial and social support for deprived CYP/caregivers’; ‘Encouraging CYP/caregiver choice;’ and ‘Funding, sustainability, and burnout.’ Many of these strategies appeared to be local (e.g., site-specific) solutions, made possible by short-term, one-off funding schemes and innovation by individual team members. While some proposed strategies appeared to improve staff time-efficiencies allowing greater numbers of CYPs to be moved onto technology, others, as interviewees noted, could add to individual team members' workloads and stress.
Conclusions
Healthcare professionals appeared highly committed to addressing technology access disparities in CYP. While some of their recommendations may be easier to implement than others, our findings underscore the importance of adopting a joined-up, integrated approach to promoting equitable technology access across the UK. This would require closer collaboration and resource-sharing within and across sites, backed by sustainable, long-term funding, with a significant portion dedicated to increasing staffing capacity to support the practical implementation of these strategies.
Date Issued
2025-07-01
Date Acceptance
2025-03-28
Citation
Diabetic Medicine, 2025, 42 (7)
ISSN
0742-3071
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Diabetic Medicine
Volume
42
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40279481
Subjects
children and young people
Endocrinology & Metabolism
healthcare professionals
inequality
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
PUMP THERAPY
qualitative research
Science & Technology
technology
type 1 diabetes
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
e70058
Date Publish Online
2025-04-25