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ATTITUDES TOWARDS A FULLY IMPLANTABLE BIONIC INVISIBLE PANCREAS: RESULTS OF A QUALITATIVE STUDY IN PEOPLE WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES
Abstract
Background and Aims
The EU project “FORGETDIABETES” (supported by H2020-FETPROACT Project FORGETDIABETES, n.951933) aims at developing a fully implantable system for automated insulin delivery (AID). It will consist of an intraperitoneal pump and an implantable CGM sensor. Insulin will be refilled via an insulin pill and the pump will be charged wirelessly. It aims at providing fully automated diabetes management with minimal user interaction. To explore human factors of the bionic invisible pancreas (BIP), we performed a qualitative study.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people with type 1 diabetes. All participants provided written informed consent and were shown a video illustrating the components and functionality of the BIP. Participants were asked about aspects of life that could benefit from the BIP and aspects of life that could become more complicated.
Results
Interviews from 38 people with type 1 diabetes were analysed. The most frequently mentioned aspect that could benefit from using the BIP was psychological with expected positive effects on quality of life, reduced diabetes distress, and less thinking about diabetes. Also, better glycaemic control and improvements regarding long-term complications (termed “Diabetes” in Figure 1) were also frequently mentioned as aspects that could benefit. Aspects that might become more complicated related mostly to technical aspects such as the implantation procedure, taking an insulin pill, and being dependent on the technology. Loss of control was also named as a big issue (Figure 2).
Conclusions
Psychological aspects such as improvements in quality of life but also loss of control are important human factors for future AID systems.