Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Mar;13(2):164-170.
doi: 10.1177/1932296818795705. Epub 2018 Sep 10.

Twitter Analysis of #OpenAPS DIY Artificial Pancreas Technology Use Suggests Improved A1C and Quality of Life

Michelle L Litchman  1   2 , Dana Lewis  3 , Lesly A Kelly  4 , Perry M Gee  1   5
Affiliations

Twitter Analysis of #OpenAPS DIY Artificial Pancreas Technology Use Suggests Improved A1C and Quality of Life

Michelle L Litchman et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Patient-driven innovation in diabetes management has resulted in a group of people with type 1 diabetes who choose to build and share knowledge around a do-it-yourself (DIY) open source artificial pancreas systems (OpenAPS). The purpose of this study was to examine Twitter data to understand how patients, caregivers, and care partners perceive OpenAPS, the personal and emotional ramifications of using OpenAPS, and the influence of OpenAPS on daily life.

Methods: Qualitative netnography was used to analyze #OpenAPS on Twitter over a two-year period.

Results: There were 328 patients, caregivers, and care partners who generated 3347 tweets. One overarching theme, OpenAPS changes lives, and five subthemes emerged from the data: (1) OpenAPS use suggests self-reported A1C and glucose variability improvement, (2) OpenAPS improves sense of diabetes burden and quality of life, (3) OpenAPS is perceived as safe, (4) patient/caregiver-provider interaction related to OpenAPS, and (5) technology adaptation for user needs.

Conclusions: As users of a patient-driven technology, OpenAPS users are self-reporting improved A1C, day-to-day glucose levels, and quality of life. Safety features important to individuals with diabetes are perceived to be embedded into OpenAPS technology. Twitter analysis provides insight on a patient population driving an innovative solution to improve their quality of diabetes care.

Keywords: OpenAPS; Twitter; artificial pancreas; diabetes; patient innovation; social media.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: MLL and PMG have no conflict of interest disclosures to report. DL is an OpenAPS developer and user. LAK has a child who is using OpenAPS. DL and LAK have not received any financial benefits related to OpenAPS development or use and have no other disclosures to report.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Global map of #OpenAPS Twitter users.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
US map of #OpenAPS Twitter users.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. OpenAPS. Open APS. 2017. Available at: https://openaps.org/ Accessed February 28, 2018.
    1. Diabetes Mine. “We Are Not Waiting” = Diabetes Data Innovation Now! N.d. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetesmine/innovation/we-are-not-wai... Accessed February 28, 2018.
    1. OpenAPS. OpenAPS Outcomes. 2018. Available at: https://openaps.org/outcomes/ Accessed July 27, 2018.
    1. White K, Gebremariam A, Lewis D, et al. Motivations for participation in an online social media community for diabetes. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2018:12(3):712-718. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kozinets RV. The field behind the screen: using netnography for marketing research in online communities. J Mark Res. 2002;39(1):61-72.