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. 2018 Dec 17;3(4):e16.
doi: 10.2196/diabetes.9926.

A Web-Based Coping Intervention by and for Parents of Very Young Children With Type 1 Diabetes: User-Centered Design

Tim Wysocki  1 , Jessica Pierce  2 , Cindy Caldwell  1 , Karen Aroian  3 , Louis Miller  4 , Rebecca Farless  5 , Ivy Hafezzadeh  6 , Terri McAninch  7 , Joyce M Lee  8
Affiliations

A Web-Based Coping Intervention by and for Parents of Very Young Children With Type 1 Diabetes: User-Centered Design

Tim Wysocki et al. JMIR Diabetes. .

Abstract

Background: Management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) among children aged <6 years is exceptionally challenging for parents and caregivers. Metabolic and psychosocial outcomes among very young children with T1D (YC-T1D) are tightly associated with their parents' ability to meet these challenges. There is scant research testing interventions targeting these issues and few resources to equip health care providers with feasible and effective coping strategies for these parents. User-centered design (UCD) of a continuously accessible Web-based resource could be a mechanism for helping parents of YC-T1D cope more effectively with the complex challenges they face by providing them with information, solutions, and emotional support.

Objective: The objectives of this paper are to (1) describe the application of UCD principles to the development of a Web-based coping intervention designed by and for parents of very young children (<6 years old) with T1D; (2) illustrate the use of crowdsourcing methods in obtaining the perspectives of parents, health care providers, and Web development professionals in designing and creating this resource; and (3) summarize the design of an ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) that is evaluating the effects of parental access to this resource on pertinent child and parent outcomes.

Methods: This paper illustrates the application of UCD principles to create a Web-based coping resource designed by and for parents of YC-T1D. A Web-based Parent Crowd, a Health Care Provider Crowd, and a Focus Group of minority parents provided input throughout the design process. A formal usability testing session and design webinars yielded additional stakeholder input to further refine the end product.

Results: This paper describes the completed website and the ongoing RCT to evaluate the effects of using this Web-based resource on pertinent parent and child outcomes.

Conclusions: UCD principles and the targeted application of crowdsourcing methods provided the foundation for the development, construction, and evaluation of a continuously accessible, archived, user-responsive coping resource designed by and for parents of YC-T1D. The process described here could be a template for the development of similar resources for other special populations that are enduring specific medical or psychosocial distress. The ongoing RCT is the final step in the UCD process and is designed to validate its merits.

Keywords: coping; mobile phone; parenting; social media; type 1 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
User-centered design principles applied in this project.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A social ecological taxonomy of influences on family management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in very young children.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Screenshot of the website homepage home page with a menu bar depicting key functions and featured articles. Source: www.thenewnormalt1d.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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