JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Research in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) education largely ignores the needs of fathers, particularly in the development of online and mobile educational materials.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to solicit and incorporate input from fathers of children with type 1 diabetes into the design, content, and infrastructure of a suite of online diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) resources.

Methods:

The study took part in three phases: (1) exploratory research, (2) website and subdomain development, and (3) evaluation. Fathers of children with T1DM (n=30) completed surveys and semi-structured qualitative interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to identify fathers’ content and design preferences. An online DSMES website (T1DToolkit.org) and a separate mobile subdomain targeting fathers (mDAD) were developed. A prototype of the site for fathers was evaluated by 33 participants. End-user feedback was elicited via survey.

Results:

Participants in the exploratory phase were enthusiastic about the online diabetes resources. Preferences included high quality design, availability via smartphone/tablet, brief text content supplemented with multimedia/interactive features, reminders via text/email, endorsement by medical professionals, and links to scientific evidence. The mDAD subdomain received high usability and acceptability ratings, with 100% of participants very likely/likely to use the site again.

Conclusions:

The development of educational platforms for fathers of children with T1DM remains an unmet need in optimizing diabetes management. This study incorporated fathers’ feedback into the development of a suite of online diabetes education resources. The findings will serve as the basis for future research to assess the clinical efficacy of the website, its subdomain targeting fathers, and additional subdomains targeting unique populations.