Open AccessBenefits and Barriers of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Young Children with Type 1 Diabetes
Author(s) -
Marisa E. Hilliard,
Wendy Levy,
Barbara J. Anderson,
Amanda L. Whitehouse,
Persis Commissariat,
Kara R. Harrington,
Lori M. Laffel,
Kellee M. Miller,
Michelle Van Name,
William V. Tamborlane,
Daniel J. DeSalvo,
Linda A. DiMeglio
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
diabetes technology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.142
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1557-8593
pISSN - 1520-9156
DOI - 10.1089/dia.2019.0142
Subject(s) - continuous glucose monitoring , medicine , type 1 diabetes , worry , diabetes management , diabetes mellitus , blood glucose self monitoring , type 2 diabetes , psychiatry , anxiety , endocrinology
Background: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has potential to address challenges of type 1 diabetes (T1D) management for young children. CGM use is increasing, yet remains underutilized. Characterizing parents' experiences with CGM can inform clinical strategies to help parents make decisions about diabetes management, overcome obstacles to initiating and sustaining CGM use, and maximize benefits of CGM use in their children's diabetes care. Methods: Transcripts from semistructured qualitative interviews with 55 parents of children aged 1 to <8 years, with T1D duration ≥6 months, and whose child currently or previously used CGM were coded and analyzed to derive themes about their experiences with CGM. Results: Participants were 88% mothers and the mean child age was 5.0 ± 1.5 years. Parents described benefits of CGM use: decreased worry about glucose excursions, improved sleep, increased sense of safety with children who cannot recognize or express symptoms of hypo- or hyperglycemia, and greater comfort with other caregivers, especially using remote monitoring functionality when away from children. Challenges included painful insertions, wearing multiple devices on small bodies, disruptive alerts, data gaps due to lost signals, skin/adhesive problems, and difficulty interpreting the amount of information generated by CGM. For some, the challenges outweighed potential benefits and they stopped CGM use. Conclusions: CGM may address unique challenges of T1D in young children and increase parental comfort with diabetes management, yet there are multiple barriers to initiating or maintaining CGM use. Education and behavioral support to address these benefits and barriers may equip caregivers with skills to address challenges of CGM use.