School Centered Telemedicine Program for Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

School Centered Telemedicine Program for Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

The purpose of this study is to determine if using school-based telemedicine for diabetes support and education in students with type 1 diabetes in grades K-8 can lead to improvement in control of diabetes and improved satisfaction of all caregivers.

Subjects, ages 5 to 14 years (grades kindergarten through eighth) were randomized to usual care (18 students; 13 schools) or intervention (23 students; 12 schools). Usual care included medical visits every 3 months and communication between school nurse and diabetes team as needed by phone. The intervention group received usual care plus a telemedicine unit in the school nurse office to videoconference between the school nurse, child, and diabetes team every month. Hemoglobin A1c and pediatric quality of life were measured every 3 months for 1 year. Analyses used multilevel modeling.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Type 1 diabetes under care of Joslin Diabetes Center in Syracuse NY
• Grade K-8
• Age 5-14 at time of enrollment
• Consent of student, parent and school