McDonough, R, Ospelt, E, Ebekozien, O, Schulmesiter, C, Rioles, N, Hardison, H, Plante, D, Mucci, A, Mathioudakis, N, Raman, V, Clements, M

Background: The diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) requires immediate comprehensive education for people with T1D (PWD) and their caregivers. Educational content, delivery, methodology, location, and duration are not standardized. This study aims to evaluate the current state of new-onset diabetes education among T1DX-QI centers.

Methods: A survey was administered from July to September 2023 to 55 T1DX-QI centers. Descriptive analysis was completed.

Results: 50 of 55 centers (91%) completed the survey. Education consists of 5+ sessions (15%), 4 sessions (42%), 3 sessions (17%), 2 sessions (17%), and 1 session (2%). Communication immediately after diagnosis between PWD/family & care teams occurs daily (33%) or every 2-3 days (25%), and 21% is PWD/family initiated. Common communication modalities included phone calls (77%) and portal messages (19%). Education topics and session processes during new-onset visits were highly varied (Fig 1a). Pediatric centers frequently (85%) have patients consume a meal to aid in skill acquisition related to carb counting and dosing while no adult centers do. Criteria for considering outpatient teaching also varied by pediatric and adult centers. (Fig 1b)

Conclusions: Across T1DX-QI, practices related to new-onset education vary widely. Additional research is necessary to evaluate best-practices as they relate to T1D.

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