Interpretation

Results

LEARNINGS

Over the past few weeks I have been gathering information about how teenagers deal with Type 1 Diabetes.  Over the course of surveys and field trips I have found some results that I never thought I would have found.  

First, I started with a survey from SurveyMonkey.com to get a few simple questions out and into the public. I asked if the teens tracked their diet, symptoms, highs and lows, and insulin intake on a daily basis. Next, I asked what some of the physical symptoms of the disease were.  Stacey, 19, responded saying she felt “shaky” and “confused” because of the lows in her blood sugar.  Then, I asked them what the hardest part of Type 1 was.  I thought it would be the physical demands of the disease but I was wrong. One teen said “Checking my blood sugar in front of my friends. When I'm with a group of people, I don't give insulin for food or check my blood sugar because I'm self conscious.” I never thought that the hardest part of the disease would be psychological instead of physical. 

Over this summer I visited Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts with my sister.  I remember the cold waiting room and just feeling nervous.  I had nothing to worry about but I do remember the small TV on the wall and a few magazines in the corner of the room.  There was no difference between this youth waiting room and the adult waiting room next door.  

I also checked out some online support systems. A lot of teen’s seemed to use social media as their diary/ venting source.  The Twitter account @type1girl and the Facebook group Teen Diabetic Support Group give great advice and inspirational paragraphs. 

THEMES

All the subjects talked about the same symptoms and had the same problems managing their blood sugar before, during, and after physical activity.  Another theme is that all of the subjects tracked their diet, symptoms, highs and lows, and insulin intake.  They also all agreed that there should be a more simple way to track all of these factors of their disease.  

INSIGHTS

I also realized that all of the subjects said that they were stressed.  Being stressed is a normal occurrence with teenagers, but after more digging stress can have long-term effects on theirs bodies.  Some teen’s blood sugar goes up while some goes down.  I didn't realize that stress was such a factor in the disease. 

HOW MIGHT WE’S

How might we create a way to track teen’s insulin, highs and lows, symptoms, and diet? How might we reduce the stress that diabetic teens have? Which question is more important? Are they equally important? Could one solution solve both problems? 

IDEAS

Some ideas that I have so far are:

• A stress reliever for teens

• Game?
• Toy?
• Therapy? Physical? Aroma?
• Support Group?
• Music?
• Physical Activity? Yoga?

• Tracking
• Symptoms

• Diet
• Highs and Lows
• Insulin intake 
• Doctors Appointments
• Supplies Tracker

NEXT STEP

In the next few weeks I plan on talking to the subjects and ask them some ideas of what releases their stress.  I also plan on asking friends and family what helps them to release stress and how they track their daily diet.