Sugarsquare. Focus on the Adolescent: Digital Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes Through the Internet

Background The treatment of diabetes is multidisciplinary. Alignment of care of the various professional disciplines is, however, not always optimal. This can lead to confusion about treatment interventions and behavioral advices. In adolescence, good fine-tuned care is of extreme importance because of the difficulties in regulation of the disease in this phase of life (Snoek, 2004). These difficulties are due to biological changes but also to socio-psychological developmental changes. The adolescents' psychological development demands more autonomy and responsibility for the diabetes (care) by the adolescent. The social development can conflict with the treatment regime, because of the adolescents' social needs (ADA, 2001; Houdijk, 1998; Snoek, 2004). In this study the investigators assess whether an interactive website, on which adolescents with diabetes and their treatment team can communicate, leads to better alignment of care and better control over the disease. Intervention The diabetes has great impact on the adolescents' everyday life. Finding a balance between more autonomy, participating in social life with (healthy) peers and control of the disease is difficult and seems to act as a thread during this phase in life. This can lead to questions and uncertainty at any given moment. The interactive website provides the adolescent access to information and to his or her individual treatment plan and advices fitted to his or her condition and life. The adolescent can pose questions at any given moment through the online forum and their personal treatment page. Since the treatment team answers the question within a day, fit between diabetes care and adolescents' everyday life is optimized. Research question Does an online interactive treatment environment, on which adolescents with diabetes can communicate with their treatment team, lead to better fit of care and to better disease control?